-NRLF 


PORTRAIT  OF  JAMES   G.   ELAINE,   REPUBLICAN    CANDIDATE 
FOR    PRESIDENT. 


THE  LIVES  OF 

JAMES    G.    ELAINE 

AND 

JOHN    A.    LOGAN, 

REPUBLICAN  PRESIDENTIAL  CANDIDATES  OF 

1884. 

AN  AUTHORIZED,   AUTHENTIC,   AND  COMPLETE  HISTORY  OF  THEIR 
PUBLIC  CAREERS  AND  PRIVATE  LIFE 

FROM 

BOYHOOD  TO  THE  PRESENT  DATE, 

REPLETE   WITH 

INCIDENTS,  ANECDOTES,  GRAPHIC  PEN-PICTUKES,  AND  THRILLING  HISTORY. 

CONTAINING   ALSO 

THE  COMPLETE   HISTORY  OF  THE   REPUBLICAN   PARTY  FROM  ITS  RISE 

TO    THE    PRESENT    TIME;     THE     CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED 

STATES  AND   ITS  FORMATION ;    A  COMPLETE  SUMMARY  OF  THE 

LIVES     AND     DEEDS     OF     ALL     THE     PRESIDENTS,     FROM 

WASHINGTON  TO    ARTHUR;    TOGETHER  WITH  OTHER 

IMPORTANT   INFORMATION. 

THE  MOST  VALUABLE  COMPENDIUM  OF  POLITICAL  HISTORY  EVER  PUBLISHED. 

THOMAS  W.  KNOX, 

Author  of  "  Camp-Fire  and  Cotton-Field"  "  Overland  through  Asia"  "  Back- 
sheesh,"  "  Underground,"  etc.,  etc. 


SUPERBLY  ILLUSTRATED  WITH  3IAGNIFICENT  PORTRAITS  AND  PULL-PAGE  ENGRAVING 

BY  T.  W.  WILLIAMS. 


SOLD    BY 

EDWARD     P.    JUDD 
760  CHAPEL  ST., 

NEW:  iuy£?r\  QONN,  ;  >  > 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  In  the  year  1884, 

BY  THE  HAKTFORD  PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


TO 

THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY, 

WHICH  HAS 
CONTROLLED  THE  DESTINIES  OP  A  GREAT  NATION 

FOR  A  QUARTER  OF  A  CENTURY, 

AND  SAFELY  GUIDED  IT  IN  THE  GREATEST  ERA  OF  PROGRESS 
THE  WORLD  HAS  EVER  KNOWN, 

THIS  VOLUME 

IS 

PATRIOTICALLY  INSCRIBED. 


M188733 


PREFACE. 


kindly  reception  accorded  by  Press  and  Public 
JL  to  the  Author's  previous  efforts  in  the  making  of 
books,  has  led  to  the  preparation  of  the  present  volume. 
It  was  contemplated  before  the  Chicago  Convention  had 
placed  the  names  of  Elaine  and  Logan  in  nomination  for 
the  suffrages  of  the  Eepublican  voters  of  the  land,  and 
the  preliminaries  of  the  work  were  undertaken  long 
previous  to  the  memorable  sixth  of  June.  A  portion  of 
the  material  was  already  collected,  and  the  balance  has 
been  obtained  since  that  date.  It  has  been  the  Author's 
aim  to  make  a  volume  which  should  contain  a  complete 
history  of  the  lives  of  the  two  men  who  are  now  so 
prominently  before  the  public,  together  with  other  matter 
bearing  upon  the  great  political  questions  of  the  day. 

This  being  his  object,  he  has  sought  his  materials 
among  the  opponents  of  Elaine  and  Logan  as  well  as 
among  their  supporters,  and  he  hopes  to  be  regarded  as 
an  impartial  historian.  If  it  should  be  considered, 
among  his  Democratic  or  Independent  friends,  that  he 
has  regarded  the  subjects  of  these  biographies  with  an 
eye  too  kindly,  he  begs  them  to  remember  that  his  affil- 


VI  PREFACE. 

iations  have  been  with  the  party  of  liberty  and  progress 
since  the  days  of  Fremont  and  Dayton,  and  that  he  is 
an  earnest  believer  in  the  principles  set  forth  in  the 
Republican  Platform  of  1884.  He  believes  in  the  thor 
ough  Republicanism  and  the  equally  thorough  American 
ism  of  Elaine  and  Logan,  and  thus  believing,  he  natu 
rally  regards  them  through  a  glass  less  opaque  than  the 
one  commonly  used  by  Democratic  observers. 

The  Author's  thanks  are  due  to  the  many  gentlemen 
who  have  facilitated  the  collection  of  materials  for  the 
biographies  of  the  Republican  candidates ;  to  his  assist 
ants  who  have  aided  in  collating  and  transcribing  -the 
narratives  of  the  public  and  personal  events  that  make 
up  the  lives  of  Elaine  and  Logan ;  to  his  publishers  for 
the  energy  and  zeal  with  which  their  share  of  the  work 
has  been  pushed ;  and  furthermore,  and  in  advance,  to 
the  many  thousands  of  intelligent  men  throughout  the 
country,  whom  he  fondly  hopes  to  number  among  his 

readers. 

T.  W.  K. 

NEW  YORK,  June,  1884. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

1.  PORTRAIT   OF  JAMES   G.  ELAINE,  REPUBLICAN  CANDI 

DATE  FOR  PRESIDENT,  ....         Frontispiece. 

2.  BIRTHPLACE  AND  EARLY  HOME   OF  JAMES  G.  ELAINE, 

AT  BROWNSVILLE,    PENN.,         .         .         .         .         .53 

(From  a  recent  photograph  by  A.  M.  Thompson,  Brownsville.) 

3.  ASSASSINATION  OF   PRESIDENT   GARFIELD. — JAMES   G. 

BLAINE  AT  THE  SIDE  OF  THE  WOUNDED  PRESIDENT,  103 

4.  THE    EXPOSITION    BUILDING,    CHICAGO,    WHERE    THE 

REPUBLICAN  CONVENTION  OF  1884  WAS  HELD,       .       131 

5.  INTERIOR  OF  THE  EXPOSITION  BUILDING,  CHICAGO. — THE 

REPUBLICAN  CONVENTION  IN  SESSION,    .         .         .165 

6.  STREET  SCENE  IN  CHICAGO  ON  THE  NIGHT  AFTER  THE 

NOMINATIONS  WERE  MADE,  .        .         .         .185 

7.  JAMES   G.  BLAINE   AND   HIS  FAMILY  AT   THEIR  HOME 

IN  AUGUSTA,    ME.,   WAITING  FOR  THE  RESULT  OF 
THE  BALLOT  IN  CHICAGO, 219 

8.  PORTRAIT  OF  HON.   JOHN  R.  LYNCH — BORN  A  SLAVE — 

TEMPORARY  CHAIRMAN  OF   THE  REPUBLICAN   CON 
VENTION  OF  1884,  .„„....       219 

9.  PORTRAIT  OF  HON.  JOHN  B.  HENDERSON,  PERMANENT 

CHAIRMAN   OF    THE  REPUBLICAN   CONVENTION    OF 
1884, ...       219 


V1H  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

10.  PORTRAIT  OF  GEN.  JOHN  A.  LOGAN,  REPUBLICAN  CANDI 

DATE  FOR  VICE-PRESIDENT, 243 

11.  GEN.  LOGAN  AT  THE  BATTLE  OF  BELMONT. — His  NAR 

ROW  ESCAPE. — DEATH  OF  HIS  HORSS  BY  A  BURST 
ING  SHELL, 289 

12.  GEN.  LOGAN  DESPERATELY  WOUNDED  WHILE  LEADING 

THE  ATTACK  ON  FORT  DONELSON,  ....  299 

13.  GEN.  LOGAN  AT  THE  BATTLE  OF  ATLANTA. — SCENE  OF 

THE  DEATH  OF  GEN.  MCPHERSON,  ....  323 

14.  THE    WHITE    HOUSE,    WASHINGTON.  —  HOME    OF    THE 

PRESIDENT, 395 

(From  a  photograph  made  by  the  U.  S.  Government.) 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

REPUBLICAN  PROGRESS.  EVENTS  LEADING  TO  THE 
FORMATION  OF  A  GREAT  PARTY. 

Growth  of  the  Country  in  the  Past  Thirty  Years.— Slavery  at  the 
Time  of  the  Revolution. — Toleration  of  the  System. — British  Proc 
lamations. — Slavery  Preserved  by  a  Yankee  Invention. — Whitney's 
Cotton-Gin. — Potentiality  of  Individual  Action. — The  Missouri 
Compromise.— The  War  With  Mexico,  and  Its  Results.— Admission 
of  California.— What  the  South  Threatened.— Features  of  the  Com 
promise  of  1850. — The  Battle  for  Freedom  in  Kansas. — Song  of  the 
Emigrants. —  "Westward  the  Course  of  Empire." 

CHAPTER  II. 
FORMATION  AND  GROWTH  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 

Dissolution  of  the  Whig  Party. — The  "Know-Nothings"  and 
Their  Principles.— Origin  of  the  Republican  Party.— The  National 
Conventions. — Election  of  1856.  —  Abraham  Lincoln.  —  Dramatic 
Incident  at  Bloomington. — A  Thrilling  Event  in  Political  Organiza 
tion. — Harmonizing  Differences. — Brooks  and  Sumner. — The  Dred 
Scott  Decision. — The  Charleston  Convention. — How  the  Democratic 
Party  was  Sundered.— The  Election  of  Lincoln.— The  War  and  Its 
Results. — Recent  History  of  the  Party. — The  Nation's  Progress 
Under  Republican  Rule. 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  III. 
JAMES  G.  ELAINE.—  HIS  BOYHOOD  AND  EARLY  LIFE. 

History  of  the  Elaine  Family. — A  Hero  of  the  Revolution. — 
Church  and  Cemetery  in  West  Brownsville,  Pennsylvania. — Ephraim 
L.  Blaine,  Father  of  the  Republican  Standard  Bearer. — Two  Graves 
in  the  Churchyard.— The  Gillespie  Family.— A  Talk  with  Old  Resi 
dents  of  Brownsville. — Birthplace  of  James  G.  Blaine.— His  Boy 
hood  and  Early  Life.— An  Interesting  Story  of  His  Childhood.— The 
Child  Father  to  the  Man. — "There,  take  that." — Getting  the  best  of 
his  Enemy. — Life  on  the  Monongahela. — An  Old  Tradition. — His 
Life  in  College. — A  Leader  in  Studies,  Sports,  and  Pranks. — Loved 
by  His  Fellow  Students. — Graduated  with  High  Honors.  52 

CHAPTER  IV. 
BLAINE  AS  TEACHER,  EDITOR,  AND  CONGRESSMAN. 

Going  West. — Professor  in  a  Military  School. — Married  to  Miss 
Stanwood. — From  Kentucky  to  Philadelphia. — Teaching  in  the 
Pennsylvania  Institution  for  the  Blind. — The  Principal's  Reminis 
cences. — First  Literary  Work  by  James  G.  Blaine. — Careful  and 
Methodical  Arrangement. — Moves  to  Augusta,  Maine. — Editor  of  the 
Kennebec  Journal. — Editor  of  the  Portland  Advertiser. — Forming 
the  Republican  Party  in  Maine. — In  the  State  Legislature. — Elected 
to  Congress. — His  Career  There. — His  First  Great  Speech. — The 
War  Debts  of  the  States. — Speech  on  the  Finances. — Speaker  of 
Three  Congresses. — His  Skill  as  a  Debater  Acknowledged.  66 

CHAPTER  Y. 
BLAINE  IN  THE  SENATE. 

Senator  Morrill's  Resignation. — Blaine  Appointed  to  Vacancy. 
— Afterward  Elected  to  Unexpired  and  Full  Terms. — His  Farewell 
Address  to  His  Constituents. —Elaine's  Action  in  the  Senate  on 


CONTENTS.  XI 

Important  Measures. — Electoral  Commission  Bill. — The  Bland  Silver 
Bill. — Speech  on  Finances. — Effects  of  Inferior  Standard  Dollar. — 
A  Dollar  for  the  Chinese  Colony  and  the  Indian  Pariah.— Restora 
tion  of  American  Shipping.— Speech  Before  New  York  Chamber 
of  Commerce. — Efforts  to  Revive  American  Commerce. — A  Startling 
Array  of  Figures. — Conflicting  Opinions  — The  Carrying  Trade 
Gone  to  Other  Countries. — False  Trademarks.— The  Business  Stand 
of  the  World.  80 

CHAPTER  VI. 

ELAINE  IN  DIPLOMACY. 

Gefceral  Garfield  asks  for  an  Interview  with  Mr.  Elaine  soon  after 
the  Election  of  1880.— Offers  of  the  Portfolio  of  Secretary  of  State. 
— His  Great  Surprise. — His  Hesitation  and  Acceptance. — His  Letter 
to  Garfield.— His  Great  Friendship  for  Garfield.— Elaine's  Diplo 
matic  Career. — Efforts  for  Peace  in  South  America. — Proposed  Con 
gress  of  American  Nations. — What  it  was  Expected  to  Accomplish. 
— An  Important  and  Impressive  Step. — Applying  Christian  Princi 
ples  to  the  Affairs  of  Nations. — The  Monroe  Doctrine. — The  Pana 
ma  Canal.— English  Hostility  to  Elaine,  and  its  Cause.  91 

CHAPTER  VII. 
ELAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GARFIELD. 

Assassination  of  President  Garfield. — Mr.  Elaine's  Narrow  Escape. 
— His  Devotion  to  the  Wounded  President. — His  Celebrated  Eulogy 
on  Garfield. — A  Masterpiece  of  Eloquence. — How  it  was  Received. — 
A  Distinguished  Audience.  —  Breathless  Attention.  —  Comparison 
between  1865  and  1881.— The  Ancestors  of  Garfield.— Cause  of  the 
English  and  French  Emigrations  to  America. — Garfield's  Boyhood. — 
A  Life  of  Privation  and  Poverty. — His  Struggle  for  Education. — 
Youth  and  College  Days. — His  Military  Life  and  Record. — Rare 
Honors. — His  Career  in  Congress. — Garfield's  Place  in  History. — His 
Services  as  President. — Religious  Convictions. — Closing  Scenes  of 
an  Honorable  Life.  102 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  Till. 
ELAINE  AND  HIS  PERSONAL  CHARACTISTICS. 

Personal  Magnetism  of  Mr.  Blaine. — His  Character  Among  His 
Friends. — His  Powers  as  a  Conversationalist. — Reminded  of  Little 
Stories. — An  Anecdote  to  the  Point. — "  How  Salt  this  Soup  is!  but  1 
Like  it." — How  he  is  Regarded  at  Home. — Personal  Friends  Amor.^ 
Democrats. — Reminiscences  of  Hon.  Robert  E.  Williams  of  Illinois. 
— Chums  at  College. — Elaine's  Ambition  to  be  a  Journalist. — Meeting 
after  an  Interval  of  Thirty  Years. — Elaine's  Recognition  of  His  Old 
Friend.—"  Bobby  Williams." — Story  of  an  Introduction  at  a  Recep 
tion. — How  a  Stranger  was  Impressed. — Magnetism  at  the  Chicago 
Convention. — Excitement  among  Delegates  and  Speculators — A  Cor 
respondent's  Interview. — The  White  Dove  at  Chicamauga. — Elaine's 
Prank  with  the  Haystack.  120 

CHAPTER  IX. 
BLAINE  AND    "THE  MULLIGAN  LETTERS." 

Charges  affecting  the  honesty  and  honor  of  Mr.  Blaine. — His 
answer  in  Congress. — Extract  from  his  speech,  delivered  June  5, 
1876.— Renewal  of  the  charges  in  1880  and  1884.— The  New  York 
Evening  Post. — Letter  of  William  Walter  Phelps. — An  intimate  friend 
of  Mr.  Blaine.— Land  grant  to  the  Little  Rock  &  Fort  Smith  Rail 
way. — The  charge  in  full. — The  answer  thereto. — How  Mr.  Blaine 
obtained  his  interest  in  the  Company. — The  transaction  disastrous. — 
Pecuniary  loss  to  Mr.  Blaine. — His  letter  to  Fisher. — Charges  of 
misrepresentation  and  untruth. — The  answer  of  Mr.  Phelps. — The 
Mulligan  letters  — The  Union  Pacific  Railway. — Other  charges  and 
the  reply. — Mr.  Elaine's  private  fortune.  137 


CONTEXTS.  xiii 

CHAPTER  X. 

ELAINE  AS  A  HISTORIAN. 

Determination  to  Write  a  Book. — "Twenty  Years  in  Congress." 
• — From  Lincoln  to  Garfield.  —  General  Appearance  of  the  Volume. 
— Character  of  the  Work. — Its  Literary  Qualities. — Events  which 
Followed  the  Revolution. — Compromises  in  the  Constitution  regard 
ing  Slavery. — Admission  of  Louisiana.— Organization  of  the  Aboli 
tion  Party. — Men  Prominent  in  the  Work. — Annexation  of  Texas. 
— The  Mexican  War. — The  Oregon  Question. — The  Kansas-Nebraska 
Struggle. — Election  of  Lincoln. — The  War  and  its  Events. — Action 
of  Great  Britain. — A  Reviewer's  Opinion.  151 

CHAPTER  XI. 
ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY. 

Efforts  of  his  friends  in  1876. — Eloquent  speech  of  Col.  Ingersoll. 
— The  needs  of  the  Republican  party. — The  characteristics  demanded 
for  its  leader.— "The  Plumed  Knight."— The  Convention  of  1880. 
— Votes  for  the  contending  candidates. — Garfield  nominated  on  the 
thirty-sixth  ballot. — Senator  Frye  presents  the  name  of  Elaine. — The 
Convention  of  1884.— Public  interest  in  the  proceedings. — Judge 
West  of  Ohio  places  Elaine  before  the  Convention. — An  eloquent 
address. — Demands  of  the  party  to-day. — The  people's  Representa 
tive. — The  progress  of  the  ballots. — Elaine  nominated  on  the  fourth 
ballot. — The  nomination  made  unanimous.  164 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  REPUBLICAN  PLATFORM.     MR.  ELAINE'S  OFFICIAL 
NOTIFICATION. 

The  Platform  of  1884.— Much  Discussed  in  the  Committee.— 
Adopted  without  Opposition. — A  Stiff  Plank  on  the  Tariff. — Declar- 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

ation  of  Principles. — In  Memory  of  Garficld. — President  Arthur 
Commended. — Duties  of  the  Government  to  the  People. — Arraign 
ing  the  Democracy. — Pledges  of  the  Pvepublicans. — Importance  of 
Sheep-Husbandry. — International  Money  Standards. — International 
and  Inter-State  Commerce. — Regulation  of  Railways. — National 
Bureau  of  Labor. — Eight-Hour  Law. — Civil  Service  Reform. — 
Opposition  to  Polygamy. — Denunciation  of  Southern  Outrages. — 
Official  Notification  of  Mr.  Elaine. — Address  of  the  Chairman  of 
the  Committee. — Mr.  Elaine's  Reply. — The  Group  on  the  Lawn.  189 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
MR.  ELAINE  AT  HOME. 

Thirty  years  a  resident  of  Augusta. — Description  of  the  City. — A 
Delightful  Situation. — Both  banks  of  the  Kennebec. — General  As 
pect  of  the  Place. — Its  Principal  Avenues. — State  Street  and  Capitol 
Street. — Position  of  Mr.  Elaine's  House. — Description  of  the  Build 
ing. — Additions  made  by  Mr.  Elaine  since  he  Bought  it. — The 
Grounds  Around  the  Building. — An  Abundance  of  Shade  Trees. — The 
Main  Entrance  to  the  House. — Arrangement  of  the  Rooms. — The 
Pictures  and  Furniture. — The  Billiard-Room  and  Library. — When 
Mr.  Elaine  performs  his  Work. — His  Habits  and  Daily  Life. — Read 
ing  Papers  and  Letters  in  Bed. — Formalities  of  Breakfast. — His 
Hours  of  Work. — Dinner  in  the  Blaine  Household. — Supper,  Recrea 
tion,  and  Sleep. — Methods  of  Work. — How  he  Reads  the  Papers. — 
Opening  and  Answering  Letters. — How  he  Writes  Important  Papers. 
— Extent  and  Character  of  Mr.  Elaine's  Library. — His  Wonderful 
Memory. — His  Taste  in  Art. — Pedestrian  Exercise. — Mr.  Blaine 
Among  Friends  and  Neighbors. — Mrs.  Blaine  and  her  Accomplish 
ments. — The  Younger  Blaines. — Mr.  Elaine's  House  in  Washington. 

205 


CONTENTS.  XV 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

MR.   ELAINE'S  VIEWS   ON  IMPORTANT  TOPICS  OF  THE 

DAY. 

Elaine  on  the  Republican  Party. — Not  Immaculate,  but  Never 
Cowardly. — His  Views  on  the  Chinese  Immigration  Question. — 
Speech  in  the  Senate. — Letter  to  Win.  Lloyd  Garrison. — Opposed  to 
Competition  of  Cheap  Labor. — Debasing  Influence  of  Chinese  in 
the  Pacific  Coast  States. — The  Buzzi  Case. — "  Once  an  American, 
Always  an  American." — Troops  at  the  Polls. — Postal  Cards. — The 
Costello  Case. — Status  of  a  Naturalized  Citizen. — Free  Trade  and 
Protection. — History  of  Free  Trade  in  England. — English  Protection 
of  Shipping  Interests. — Early  Trade  Policy  of  the  United  States. — 
Effects  of  Free  Trade  and  Protection  Contrasted. — Advantages  of 
Protection  to  the  American  ~\7orkingman. — A  Picture  of  the  Future. 
— Civil  Service  Reform. — Mr.  Elaine's  Views  Concerning  It,  226 

CHAPTER  XY. 

LOGAN  IN  THE  CHICAGO  CONVENTION. 
The  Illinois  Delegation  Firmly  Resolved  to  Make  Senator  Logan 
the  Republican  Candidate  for  the  Presidency. — The  Enthusiasm  in 
the  Convention  for  "The  Greatest  of  the  Civilian  Generals  of  the 
War." — Senator  Cullom's  Nominating  Speech. —  General  Prentiss 
Seconds  the  Nomination. —  Firm  Support  on  Three  Ballots,  but 
Logan's  Strength  Transferred  to  Elaine  on  the  Fourth,  by  his  Own 
Orders. — Nominated  for  Vice-President  by  Senator  Plumb,  and  the 
Nomination  Numerously  Seconded. —  Declared  the  Candidate  by  a 
Unanimous  Vote.  242 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

LOGAN  IN  EARLY  LIFE. 

His  Appearance  as  a  Boy  Conjectured  from  his  Appearance  as  a 
Man. — No  Indian  Blood  in  his  Veins. — A  Lady  Correspondent's  Por 
trait  of  Him.— His  Parents,  and  His  Early  Home  in  Southern  Illi- 


XVi  CONTENTS. 

nois. — His  Father  an  Irishman  and  His  Mother  a  Tennesseean  of 
Scotch  Descent. — Professor  Thomas,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute, 
Relates  Incidents  of  Logan's  Boyhood. — He  goes  to  Mill  and  Waits 
for  a  Belt  to  be  Made. — His  Notice  to  Squirrels. — Logan's  Education. 
— A  College-Bred  Man. — Logan  in  the  Mexican  War. — Still  a  Boy, 
but  an  Officer. — Logan  as  a  Young  Lawyer  and  Politician. — His  Nat 
ural  Eloquence.  260 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

LOGAN  IN  THE  WAR  FOR  THE  UNION. 

How  He  Gained  the  Title  of  "Black  Jack."  — Was  He  a  Seces 
sion  Sympathizer  at  the  Outset?— His  Own  and  the  Record's  Answer. 
— The  Confession  of  Confederates  Exonerates  Him. — The  Story  of 
Bull  Run,  and  Logan's  glorious  Beginning  in  the  War  for  the  Union. 
— Resigning  to  Raise  a  Regiment. — Grant  and  Logan  at  Cairo,  March 
to  their  Illustrious  Careers  as  Officers  in  the  Greatest  of  Modern 
Struggles. — The  Task  of  "  Purging  Missouri. " — The  Battle  of  Bel- 
mont. — Logan's  Regiment  Under  Fire  for  the  First  Time. — His 
Horse  Killed  under  Him,  and  His  Pistol  Shattered  at  His  Side. — 
Praise  for  His  Bravery.  271 

CHAPTER  XYIII. 

LOGAN  AT  DONELSON  AND  BEFORE  CORINTH. 
He  Returns  to  Cairo  from  Belmont  and  goes  to  Washington  to 
ask  Comforts  for  his  Men. — He  Helps  Win  the  Decisive  Victory  at 
Fort  Henry,  and  Rout  the  Confederates  in  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and 
Missouri. — The  Army  and  the  Country  cry,  "On  to  Donelson." — 
Grant  Plans  the  Attack  and  Waits  for  Foote  to  Bring  the  Mortar- 
Boats  into  the  Cumberland  from  Cairo  to  Bombard  the  Fort. — The 
Confederates  Attempt  to  Cut  a  Way  out  and  Escape  toward  Nash 
ville. — Logan  Prevents  a  Panic  and  is  Carried  Bleeding  from  the 
Field.— Grant  Makes  him  a  Brigadier-General.— The  Siege  of  Corinth. 
— An  Interesting  Report  in  Logan's  Own  Words. — Sherman's  Praise. 

292 


CONTENTS.  XV11 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
LOGAN  IN  HIS  LATER  CAMPAIGNS. 

Logan  Commander  of  Jackson. — He  goes  North  to  Speak  for  the 
Union,  but  Refuses  to  Leave  the  Army  for  a  Seat  in  Congress. — "I 
Have  Entered  the  Field  to  Die,  if  Need  Be." — Appointed  Major- 
General  at  the  End  of  the  Campaign.— The  Battle  of  Port  Gibson.— 
"The  Road  to  Vicksburg  Open." — Raymond  and  Champion  Hills. — 
The  Count  of  Paris  Says  Logan  Secures  the  Federal  Victory. — "  The 
Gibralter  of  the  South."— Logan  First  to  Enter  Vicksburg.— Military 
Governor  of  the  City. — A  Series  of  Brilliant  Battles. — The  Death  of 
McPherson. — The  Fall  of  Atlanta. — Logan  on  the  Stump  for  Lincoln. 
—With  Sherman  in  the  Carolinas.— The  End  of  the  War.  315 

CHAPTER  XX. 

LOGAN  IN  CONGRESS. 

Logan's  First  Appearance  in  National  Politics. — In  Congress  at 
the  beginning  of  the  War,  he  Resigns  to  Raise  a  Regiment. — He  Re 
turns  after  the  War  with  a  Famous  Majority. — Logan  and  the  An 
drew  Johnson  Impeachment. — Bitter  Disappointment  as  a  Manager 
at  the  Verdict  of  Acquittal. — Logan  and  the  Fitz-John  Porter  Case. — 
The  Peroration  of  His  Memorable  Speech  of  March  14,  1884.— His 
Sincerity  Commands  the  Respect  of  those  who  Dissent  from  his 
Views. — One  of  the  Busiest  Men  in  Washington. — Demands  upon 
Him  from  Every  State  in  the  Union.  326 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
LOGAN  IN  HIS  FAMILY. 

The  Scene  in  the  Logan  Home  in  Washington  after  the  Chicago 
Nomination.  —  The  Boarding -House  in  which  the  Logans  have 
spent  Twelve  Winters. —  "A  Remarkable  Wedded  Pair."  — Mrs. 


XV111  CONTENTS. 

Logan's  Early  History.  —  Brought  up  a  Baptist,  she  is  Educated  in 
a  Convent,  but  Marries  as  a  Methodist. — As  a  Girl  she  Aids  her 
Father,  as  she  afterwards  Aided  her  Husband.  —  Mrs.  Logan  dur 
ing  the  War.  —  The  Logan  Children.  —  Mrs.  Logan's  Ambition.  — 
Not  Rich,  a  House  in  Chicago  and  a  Farm  in  Southern  Illinois. — 
An  Evening  with  Logan  at  Home.  —  Mrs.  Logan's  Personal  Appear 
ance.  335 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
LOGAN  AND  HIS  FRIENDS. 

Logan's  First  Appearance  in  the  Senate  After  the  Nomination. — 
His  Relations  with  Brother  Senators. — The  Sentiments  of  Edmunds 
and  Other  Senators  Toward  Him. — The  Secret  of  his  Friendships. — 
General  Grant's  Estimate  of  Him. — Logan  and  General  Thomas. — 
His  Social  Instincts  Illustrated  by  a  Story. — Logan  and  the  Soldiers. 
— His  Devotion  to  their  Interests  While  in  Congress. — One  of  the 
Founders  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. — Logan's  Admirers 
in  the  South. — Logan  and  his  Constituents.  — Logan  and  Laboring 
Men.  — His  Tribute  to  Elaine. — His  Speech  of  Acceptance.  347 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  ITS 
HISTORY. 

Preliminaries  to  the  Struggle  for  Independence. — The  Convention 
of  1765.— Articles  of  Confederation.— The  "Declaration  of  Rights" 
and  other  Papers. — The  Continental  Congress. — Work  of  the  Com 
mittee  of  Five. — The  Beginning  of  the  War. — Minute-men. — Wash 
ington's  Statesmanship. —Formation  of  the  Constitution. — Opposi 
tion  to  its  Adoption. — The  Bulwark  of  the  Republic. — Text  of  the 
Constitution. — Views  of  the  Statesmen  Concerning  it. — Amendments 
and  Their  History. — How  the  Amendments  were  Ratified.  370 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  FIRST  PRESIDENT  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES—  SKETCH  OF  HIS  LIFE  AND  ADMIN 
ISTRATION. 

His  Remarkable  Modesty.  —  Opposed  to  Slavery  Although  a  Slave 
holder.  —  The  Country  Bordering  on  Anarchy.  —  Quarrels  Between 
the  Federalists  and  Anti-Federalists.—  Not  a  Partisan  Himself.—  His 
Virtues  Derived  from  His  Mother.  —  Mount  Vernon  an  Inheritance 
from  His  Brother.  —  His  Sense  of  Justice.  —  Love  of  Truth  and  Per 
sonal  Honor.  —  Farewell  Address  to  His  Army.  —  His  Admirably  Bal 
anced  Character.  —  Washington's  Cabinet.  —  His  Retirement  to  Private 
Life  at  Most  Welcome.  394 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

JOHN   ADAMS,    SECOND    PRESIDENT    OF    THE   UNITED 
STATES. 

Not  by  any  Means  so  Popular  as  His  Predecessor.  —  Elected  by 
Three  Votes  Only.  —  The  Country  Beginning  to  be  an  In  dependant 
Nation.  —  Commencing  Life  as  a  School  Teacher.  —  His  Wife  a  Re 
markable  Woman.  —  Adams  a  Vigorous  Speaker  and  Pointed  Writer 
of  Choleric  Temper.  —  Bitter  Hostility  Between  Parties.  —  Employed 
on  Delicate  Missions.  —  Extremely  Active  in  Political  Life.  —  One  of 
the  First  to  See  a  Final  Rupture  with  the  Mother  Country  Inevitable. 

404 
CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON,  THIRD  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES. 

His  Pride  in  the  Authorship  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
—  The  First  Genuine  Democrat.  —  His  Radical  Revision  of  the  Laws 
of  Virginia.  —  The  Final  Treaty  of  Peace.  —  His  Views  Opposed  to 
Hamilton's.  —  Genest's  Extraordinary  Conduct  as  French  Minister.  — 


XX  CONTENTS. 

Love  of  France  and  French  Institutions. — Jefferson  and  Aaron  Burr 
Receive  the  Same  Number  of  Votes  for  President. — Simplification  of 
Customs  and  Manners. — His  Dislike  of  Titles. — His  Personal  Appear 
ance  and  Delightful  Companionship.  411 

CHAPTER  XXYII. 

JAMES  MADISON,  JAMES  MONROE,  AND  JOHN  QUINCY 
ADAMS,  FOURTH,  FIFTH,  AND  SIXTH  PRESIDENTS  OF 
THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Conciliatory  Character  of  Madison's  Administration. — His  Opin 
ions  on  the  Federal  Government. — His  Charming  Wife. — Decline  and 
Death  of  Federalism. — Monroe's  Election  Almost  Unanimous. — 
His  Gallant  Service  in  the  Field.— Wounded  at  Trenton.— The  Era 
of  Good  Feeling. — Monroe's  Views  of  Coercion. — Bitter  Disputes 
with  Great  Britain  Leading  to  the  War  of  1812.— The  Fifth  Presi 
dent's  Successful  Efforts  to  Restore  the  Public  Credit. — He  Dies  In 
volved  in  Debt. — Adams'  Early  Advantages  and  Experiences. — His 
Honorable  and  Distinguished  Career  in  the  House.  420 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

ANDREW  JACKSON,  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN,  AND  WM. 
HENRY  HARRISON,  SEVENTH,  EIGHTH,  AND  NINTH 
PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Jackson,  the  First  Unmixed  Democrat. — His  Election  Regarded  in 
Virginia  and  Massachusetts  with  Surprise  and  Disgust. — His  Un 
couth  and  Untaught  Youth. — His  Chivalrous  Delicacy  Toward 
Women.— His  Morbid  Sensibility  about  his  Wife's  Reputation.— His 
Combats  with  Indians. — Various  Recounters  and  Duels. — The  Her 
mitage. — The  Seminole  War. — Battle  of  New  Orleans. — His  Deter 
mination  to  Hang  the  Nullifiers. — Honest,  Single-minded,  and  Pat 
riotic. — Van  Buren  as  Democrat  and  Free-soiler. — His  Contented  Old 
Age. — Harrison  as  an  Indian  Fighter. — The  Log  Cabin  Campaign. 

434 


CONTENTS.  XXI 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

JOHN    TYLER    AND     JAMES    K.     POLK,    TENTH    AND 
ELEVENTH  PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Tyler  the  First  Vice-President  to  Succeed  the  Chief  Executive  by 
Death.— A  Representative  of  the  Same  Social  Class  as  Jefferson,, 
Madison,  and  Monroe. — Education  and  Wealth  Really  Disadvan 
tageous  to  Him. — A  Career  of  Continuous  Vetoes. — Making  Himself 
Extremely  Unpopular. — Forcing  His  Cabinet  to  Resign. — The 
Annexation  of  Texas  a  Favorite  Scheme. — A  Member  of  the  Peace 
Convention  in  1861. — A  Former  Chief  Magistrate  in  Open  Rebellion 
Against  the  Government. — Polk  and  the  Mexican  War. — A  Common 
place  President.  448 
CHAPTER  XXX. 

ZACHARY  TAYLOR,  MILLARD  FILLMORE,  AND  FRANK 
LIN  PIERCE,  TWELFTH,  THIRTEENTH,  AND  FOUR 
TEENTH  PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Taylor  purely  a  Military  Man. — His  Reputation  made  in  the  Mexican 
War. — His  Death  in  Four  Months. — His  Disqualifications  for  Politi 
cal  Life. — Fillmore's  Early  Success. — His  Foreshadowing  of  the 
National  Banking  System. — Approval  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law. — 
The  Irreparable  Injury  it  did  Him. — A  Candidate  of  the  American 
Party.— Pierce  a  Northern  Man  with  Extreme  Southern  Principles. 
— His  constant  Sympathy  with  and  Sustainment  of  Slavery. — His 
Gallantry  in  the  Field. — Retirement  to  Private  Life  Equivalent  to 
Extinction.  453 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

JAMES  BUCHANAN,   FIFTEENTH  PRESIDENT   OF   THE 
UNITED  STATES. 

An  Unpopular  Administration. — James  Buchanan's  Early  History. 
— Sent  to  Congress  at  Twenty-nine. — The  Weakest  of  Presidents. — 


CONTENTS. 

His  Total  Inadequacy  for  the  Great  Emergency  in  which  He  was 
Placed. — Shrewd  for  His  Own  Interest. — An  Admirer  and  Fol 
lower  of  Jackson  Without  His  Will  or  Courage. — The  Anti-Slav 
ery  Excitement  in  Kansas. — The  Cause  of  the  Civil  War  Inherent 
in  the  Constitution. — The  Nation  on  the  Eve  of  a  Conflict. — 
Admission  by  Buchanan  of  the  Right  of  the  Southern  States  to 
Secede. — A  Pitiful  Spectacle  of  Imbecility. — General  Relief  at  the 
End  of  His  Administration.  464 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,    SIXTEENTH  PRESIDENT   OF   THE 
UNITED  STATES. 

Contrast  Between  Lincoln  and  Buchanan. — His  Lonely  Boyhood 
and  Severe  Youth. — The  Cause  of  his  Detestation  of  Slavery. — The 
Campaign  with  Douglas  in  Illinois  Introduces  him  to  the  Nation. — 
The  Irresistible  Magnetism  of  the  Rail-Splitter. — His  Nomination  at 
Chicago. — Deplorable  Condition  of  the  Country  at  the  Time  of  his 
Inauguration. — His  Resolve  to  Preserve  the  Union  at  all  Hazards. — 
Distressing  Effect  of  his  Assassination. — His  Personal  Appearance 
and  Power  of  Persuasion. — How  the  Future  will  Regard  the  Great 
President.  472 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

ANDREW  JOHNSON  AND  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT,  SEVEN 
TEENTH  AND  EIGHTEENTH  PRESIDENTS  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES. 

Johnson's  Early  Life  and  Hard  Struggles. — A  Tailor  who  was  more 
than  the  Ninth  Part  of  a  Man. — His  Views  of  Slavery  and  Seces 
sion. — His  Personal  Courage  and  its  Good  Effects  Politically. — His 
Disagreement  with  Congress  about  Reconstruction. — The  Impeach 
ment  Trial. — Grant  in  the  Mexican  War.— His  Incompctency  in 
Business. — Finding  his  Place  in  the  Civil  War. — His  Extraordinary 
Success  in  the  Field. — Called  to  Command  the  Army  of  the  Poto 
mac.— His  Political  Mistakes  and  Greed  of  Power.  480 


CONTENTS.  xxiii 

CHAPTER  XXXIY. 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES,  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD,  AND 
CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR,  NINETEENTH,  TWENTIETH^ 
AND  TWENTY-FIRST  PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES. 

Hayes  as  Lawyer,  Politician,  and  Soldier. — Nominated  because  an 
Ohioan. — The  Electoral  Commission. — Great  Outcry  Against  him, 
but  Still  a  Creditable  President.— Garfield's  Hard  Fight  with  Fortune 
at  the  Outset. — Ambition  to  be  a  Canal-Boat  Captain. — His  Career  in 
the  Army. — Leader  of  the  House  of  Representatives. — His  Admir 
able  Equipment  for  Political  Life. — His  Nomination  at  Chicago 
Wholly  Unexpected. — The  National  Sorrow  at  his  Assassination. — 
Arthur  Born  in  a  Log  Cabin,  and  Ruling  in  the  White  House.  491 


CHAPTER  I. 


REPUBLICAN  PROGRESS.  EVENTS  LEADING 
TO  THE  FORMATION  OF  A  GREAT  PARTY. 

Growth  of  the  Country  in  the  Past  Thirty  Years.— Slavery  at  the 
Time  of  the  Revolution — Toleration  of  the  System. — British  Proc 
lamations. — Slavery  Preserved  by  a  Yankee  Invention. — Whitney's 
Cotton-Gin.— Potentiality  of  Individual  Action.— The  Missouri 
Compromise. — The  War  With  Mexico,  and  Its  Results. — Admission 
of  California.— What  the  South  Threatened.— Features  of  the  Com 
promise  of  1850. — The  Battle  for  Freedom  in  Kansas. — Song  of  the 
Emigrants. —  "Westward  the  Course  of  Empire." 

The  history  of  the  Republican  Party,  since  it  came 
into  existence,  is  practically  the  history  of  the  nation 
for  the  last  thirty  years,  Since  that  party  was  organized 
we  have  seen  our  population  increased  to  more  than 
double  its  former  number ;  we  have  seen  the  destruction 
of  African  Slavery,  with  all  its  catalogue  of  evils ;  we 
have  passed  through  a  war  which  jeopardized  the  safety 
of  the  Nation,  but  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Government  on  a  firmer  basis  than  it  had  ever  known 
before;  and  we  have  witnessed  a  degree  of  progress  in, 
3  (25) 


26  HISTORY   OF   THE   REPUBLICAN   PARTY. 

the  arts  and  industries  of  our  national  life,  greater  than 
any  similar  period  has  ever  experienced. 

The  railway  and  the  telegraph  have  been  extended 
from  end  to  end  of  the  United  States,  and  the  resources 
of  the  country  developed  with  a  rapidity  undreamed  of 
in  the  days  of  Andrew  Jackson  and  his  compeers. 
Manufacturing  and  agricultural  industries  have  more 
than  doubled  the  nation's  wealth,  and  given  her  a 
foremost  rank  as  the  source  from  which  the  whole 
civilized  globe  may  be  supplied  ;  our  seaports  have  been 
filled  with  shipping  from  all  lands,  and  between  our 
Atlantic  coast  and  the  great  harbors  of  Europe  there  are 
fleets  of  steamers  engaged  in  exchanging  our  products 
for  those  of  other  lands.  Our  commerce  extends  to  all 
parts  of  the  globe,  and  our  influence  among  the  nations 
is  increasing  year  by  year. 

At  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  which  made  us 
independent  of  England  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the 
Republic  as  we  see  it  to-day,  the  slavery  question  was 
not  regarded  as  of  great  importance  for  the  future. 
The  institution  had  ,  existed  throughout  the  whole 
country,  but  it  had  practically  disappeared  in  some  of 
the  Northern  States  and  was  destined  to  disappear 
before  many  years  in  others.  The  framers  of  the 
Constitution  had  little  fear  that  the  system  would  be,  of 
long  duration,  and  some  of  the  founders  of  the  Republic 
predicted  that  it  would  altogether  cease  to  exist  within 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN   PARTY.  27 

the  next  fifty  years.  There  was  then  a  population  of 
three  millions ;  about  half  a  million  were  slaves,  and 
it  was  argued  that  where  the  institution  numbered  only 
one-sixth  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  there  could 
be  no  danger  of  its  long  continuance. 

All  the  Colonies  tolerated  slavery,  but  the  system  was 
mainly  confined  to  the  Southern  states,  where  it  gave 
considerable  trouble  to  the  patriots  engaged  in  the 
struggle  for  liberty.  British  governors  and  generals 
in  the  field  issued  proclamations  offering  freedom  to  the 
slaves,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  news  reached  the 
black  men  on  the  plantations,  and  in  every  other  place 
where  they  existed. 

Thousands  of  the  negroes  took  advantage  of  these 
proclamations  and  fled  to  the  British  camp,  where  they 
were  immediately  set  free  and  received  the  promised 
protection.  They  became  of  great  use  to  the  British 
commanders  in  showing  the  roads  through  the  country, 
and  otherwise  serving  as  guides  and  spies.  There  were 
constant  fears  of  an  insurrection  among  the  negroes  on 
the  plantations,  and  the  movements  of  the  Continental 
Armies  in  the  Southern  States  were  often  hindered  by 
the  necessity  of  providing  against  the  possibility  of  such 
disturbances.  The  New  England  States,  with  a  popula 
tion  much  smaller  than  that  of  Virginia,  Georgia,  and 
the  Carolinas,  had  twice  as  many  men  in  the  field,  and 
the  history  of  the  Revolution  reveals  very  plainly  the 


28  HISTORY   OF   THE   REPUBLICAN   PARTY. 

fears  of  the  slave-holders,  and  their  helplessness  in  the 
time  of  war. 

But  the  predictions  or  hopes  of  some  at  least  of  the 
framers  of  the  Constitution  were  not  realized.  Not  only 
did  slavery  fail  to  die  out  but  it  increased  in  strength, 
and  whenever  new  territory  was  added  to  the  country 
the  slave-holders  claimed  the  right  to  go  there  with  their 
human  property.  It  was  a  long  and  earnest  struggle  on 
both  sides,  but  there  was  not  the  same  division  or  parties 
that  arose  in  later  years. 

The  slave-trade  was  brought  to  an  end  in  1808,  at 
least  in  all  its  legal  features,  though  several  cargoes  of 
negroes  were  surreptitiously  brought  into  the  country 
after  that  time.  The  suppression  of  the  traffic  was 
thought  by  many  to  be  the  beginning  of  the  end,  and  so 
it  might  have  been  but  for  the  invention  of  a  Northern 
school-teacher,  one  Eli  Whitney. 

What  had  the  Northern  school-teacher  to  do  with  it  ? 

The  South  could  produce  cotton  in  enormous  quantities, 
but  the  process  of  separating  the  lint  from  the  seed  was 
one  that  required  a  great  deal  of  labor.  It  was  estimated 
that  a  single  person  could  only  separate  a  pound  of  lint 
from  the  seed  in  a  single  day ;  therefore  the  process  was 
unprofitable,  since  cotton  at  the  price  thus  necessitated 
could  not  be  sold  in  competition  with  wool. 

Mr.  Whitney  was  an  inventive  genius  who  went  south 
soon  after  he  had  graduated  from  college,  and  sought 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  29 

employment  in  teaching  school.  Learning  of  the  value 
of  cotton  and  the  difficulty  of  its  preparation,  he  set  to 
work  to  devise  a  machine  that  would  take  the  place  of 
hand-labor.  In  a  few  weeks  he  completed  it,  and,  in  part 
nership  with  another  northern  man,  began  the  manufac 
ture  of  the  cotton-gin. 

Great  events  often  turn  upon  the  acts  of  individuals ! 

An  English  writer  has  said  that  the  feet  of  a  pretty 
peasant  girl,  twinkling  in  a  brook,  attracted  the  attention 
of  a  Norman  Duke,  and  made  her  the  mother  of  William 
The  Conquerer.  Had  she  not  thus  fascinated  the  founder 
of  a  line  of  kings  there  would  have  been  no  invasion  of 
England,  no  defeat  at  Hastings,  no  union  of  Saxon  and 
Norman,  no  United  Kingdom,  no  British  Empire. 

Perhaps,  if  Eli  Whitney  had  not  spent  the  winter  of 
1792  in  the  house  of  Mrs.  Greene  of  Georgia,  there  would 
have  been  no  cotton-gin,  no  increase  in  the  value  of  the 
cotton  product,  no  enormous  demand  for  slave-labor,  no 
Missouri  Compromise,  no  aggressions  of  the  slave-power, 
no  Republican  party,  and  no  civil  war  for  the  destruction 
or  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 

The  invention  of  Whitney  made  valuable  millions  of 
acres  that  had  been  lying  waste,  and  increased  the  price 
of  slaves  more  than  tenfold  in  the  localities  where  their 
labor  could  be  made  most  useful  in  the  cotton  field.  The 
whole  South  was  enriched  by  the  invention,  and  where 
there  had  been  only  a  few  thousand  bales  of  cotton  made 


30  HISTORY  OF   THE  REPUBLICAN   PARTY. 

every  year  before  the  cotton-gin  came  into  use,  there  were 
many  thousand  bales  annually  turned  out  in  the  early 
part  of  the  century.  It  was  estimated  that  in  1793  there 
were  about  five  thousand  bales  of  cotton  made  in  the 
then  United  States,  while  in  1859,  the  year  before  the 
war,  the  product  was  more  than  five  millions  of  bales, 
being  three-fourths  in  weight  and  seven-eighths  in  value 
of  all  the  cotton  produced  in  the  whole  world. 

See  what  the  brain  of  a  single  man  could  accomplish ! 

Following  the  invention  of  the  cotton-gin  came  the 
desire  to  extend  the  system  of  slavery  wherever  the  land 
was  favorable  to  the  cultivation  of  cotton.  The  Louis 
iana  purchase,  and  the  addition  of  its  territory  to  our  own, 
gave  the  opportunity  for  the  formation  of  new  Slave 
States,  and  naturally  roused  the  hostility  of  those  who 
desired  the  end  of  the  system  of  forced  labor. 

The  agitation  growing  out  of  this  state  of  affairs 
brought  about  the  Missouri  compromise  of  1820,  by 
which  slavery  was  forbidden  to  go  into  any  new  territory 
north  of  the  parallel  of  thirty-six  degrees  and  thirty 
minutes.  Then  followed  legislation  in  various  forms  and 
at  different  times ;  but  the  question  of  slavery  was  not 
made  a  distinct  line  between  the  great  political  parties 
until  some  time  later. 

The  Democrats  were  generally  ardent  sympathizers 
with  the  slave-holders,  while  the  Whigs  were  opposed  to 
them,  but  in  many  of  the  party  differences,  the  tariff  and 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REPUBLICAN   PARTY.  31 

the  question  of  appropriations  for  internal  improvements 
were  most  prominent.  Of  course  the  dispute  about 
slavery  was  not  at  any  time  forgotten,  and  almost  invari 
ably  came  up  through  an  effort  of  the  South  to  obtain 
fresh  concessions  in  their  behalf. 

The  war  with  Mexico  was  denounced  through  the 
north  as  a  war  for  the  extension  of  slavery,  and  it  resulted 
in  adding  Texas  to  the  list  of  Slave  States,  but  it  gave 
in  addition  a  large  area  on  the  Pacific  Coast  that  was 
destined  to  be  the  home  of  freedom.  The  acquisition  of 
California  was  one  of  the  results  of  the  war  with  Mexico, 
and  so  was  the  territory  then  and  now  known  as  New 
Mexico.  The  hero  of  the  war,  General  Zachary  Taylor, 
was  elected  president  in  1848,  and  the  event  was  due 
more  to  his  persistent  silence  on  the  question  of  slavery 
in  the  territories  than  to  any  outspoken  sentiments  on 
the  subject. 

The  convention  that  nominated  him  did  not  put  for 
ward  any  distinctive  platform  throughout  the  whole  can 
vass  ;  it  was  impossible  to  draw  any  positive  utterances 
on  this  subject  from  the  Whigs,  the  party  that  supported 
him.  The  opposition  was  divided  between  General  Lewis 
Cass,  nominated  by  the  Democrats,  and  Martin  Van 
Buren,  the  nominee  of  the  Free  Soil  Party.  Taylor  was 
successful  by  a  plurality  instead  of  a  majority  ;  some  of 
the  southern  States  refused  to  support  him,  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  received  the  votes  of  New  York  and  Penn- 


82  HISTORY   OF  THE  REPUBLICAN   PARTY. 

sylvania,  which  have  always  been  considered  as  holding 
the  balance  of  power  in  presidential  elections. 

The  election  led  to  the  separation  of  many  TVhigs  and 
Democrats  from  their  parties,  and  their  union  with  the 
Free  Soil  Party  which  was  every  year  gaining  in  strength, 
both  morally  and  numerically. 

Soon  after  the  inauguration  of  Taylor  as  president  of 
of  the  United  States  there  was  an  excitement  throughout 
the  country  over  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California. 
Thousands  of  adventurers  were  flocking  to  the  Pacific 
Coast  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  it  was  evident 
that  California  would  soon  be  asking  for  admission  as  a 
Sovereign  State. 

Should  California  be  slave  or  free  ? 

The  people  of  the  new  commonwealth  decided  the 
question  without  waiting  for  Congressional  action.  A 
convention  was  called  to  form  a  constitution  and  organize 
a  local  government,  and  without  any  delay  it  decided 
that  slavery  should  forever  be  excluded  from  the  future 
State.  Delegates  were  sent  to  Washington  to  ask  for  the 
admission  of  California  into  the  Union,  and  the  request 
roused  all  the  bitterness  of  party  politics  which  had  been 
slumbering  for  several  years. 

There  were  threats  that  the  South  would  secede  from 
the  Union,  and  many  persons  feared  that  the  country  was 
on  the  verge  of  civil  war.  The  fierce  debates  resulted 
in  a  compromise,  and  a  committee  of  thirteen  was 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REPUBLICAN   PARTY.  33 

appointed  to  draft  a  bill  which  should  settle  the  differ 
ences  between  the  North  and  South.  It  was  finally  re 
ported  and  passed  after  a  discussion  which  lasted  four 
months ;  the  bill  is  known  in  history  as  the  Compromise 
Act  of  1850,  and  also,  by  reason  of  several  distinct  mea 
sures  that  were  included  in  it,  as  "  The  Omnibus  Bill." 

The  most  important  stipulations  of  the  compromise  of 
1850,  were  that  California  should  be  admitted  into  the 
Union  as  a  Free  State,  that  all  the  region  east  of  it  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains  should  form  the  Territory  of  Utah 
without  mention  of  slavery,  and  that  New  Mexico  should 
be  formed  into  a  Territory  under  the  same  conditions. 
Then  it  was  further  provided  that  the  slave-trade  should 
be  abolished  in  the  District  of  Columbia ;  but  as  an  off 
set  to  this  came  the  fugitive  slave  law  which  provided 
that  slaves  escaping  from  bondage  into  any  of  the  north 
ern  States  should  be  arrested  and  delivered  up  to  their 
masters. 

This  was  the  measure  that  created  great  dissatisfaction 
both  north  and  south  and  led  to  much  bitterness  of  feel 
ing.  It  may  be  regarded  more  than  any  one  political 
enactment  as  the  event  which  led  to  the  formation  of  the 
Republican  party. 

President  Taylor  died  in  little  more  than  a  year  after 
entering  upon  the  duties  of  his  high  office,  and  was  suc 
ceeded  by  Millard  Fillmore.  Nothing  of  importance 
occurred  during  the  administration  of  the  latter,  but  it 

was  the  calm  that  preceded  the  storm. 
2* 


34  HISTORY   OF   THE   REPUBLICAN    PARTY. 

In  1852  Franklin  Pierce  was  elected,  and  the  first  part 
of  bis  administration  was  chiefly  occupied  with  foreign 
complications  which  had  no  serious  result.  Later  on 
came  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  which  threw  the  newly 
organized  Territories  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska  open  to 
the  admission  of  slaves.  It  was  virtually  a  repeal  of  the 
compromise  measures  of  1850,  as  it  allowed  the  people 
of  those  Territories  to  say  whether  they  would  have 
slavery  or  not  without  regard  to  the  line  of  demarkation 
of  36°  30'. 

Congress  and  the  people  were  taken  by  surprise,  and  if 
the  proposers  of  the  measure  could  have  foreseen  the 
trouble  it  would  create  it  is  doubtful  if  they  would  have 
made  the  venture.  There  was  a  storm  of  indignation 
through  the  whole  north ;  public  meetings  were  held  in 
almost  every  village  and  the  measure  was  severely 
denounced  by  all  except  the  sympathizers  with  slavery. 
So  many  remonstrances  were  made  and  sent  to  the  Sen 
ate  that  it  looked  at  one  time  as  though  the  measure 
would  be  defeated  ;  but  finally  it  became  a  law  and  the 
new  Territory  was  opened  to  the  owners  of  slaves. 
Nebraska  was  so  far  to  the  north  that  no  effort  was 
undertaken  to  make  it  a  slave  state  and  the  battle  was 
mainly  confined  to  Kansas. 

Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  events  of  thirty  years 
ago  do  not  need  to  be  told  how  emigration  aid  societies 
were  formed  through  the  north,  and  how  great  sums  of 


HISTORY   OP  THE   REPUBLICAN    PARTY.  35 

money  were  raised  to  secure  the  settlement  of  Kansas 
by  a  population  that  would  be  in  favor  of  freedom. 
There  were  memorable  events  in  those  days,  and  eloquent 
voices  and  gifted  pens  were  enlisted  in  the  cause.  Those 
who  witnessed  the  departure  of  the  first  emigrant  society 
from  Boston  will  remember  the  excitement  which  pre 
vailed  through  the  city,  as  the  little  band  of  settlers 
marched  to  the  railway  station  where  they  sang  the  words 
of  Whittier  which  had  been  written  for  the  occasion : 

"We  cross  the  prairies  as  of  old 
Our  fathers  crossed  the  sea ; 
To  make  the  West,  as  they  the  East, 
The  homestead  of  the  free. " 

As  soon  as  it  became  known  in  the  slave  states  that 
the  people  of  the  east  were  determined  to  settle  Kansas 
with  men  and  women  who  believed  in  universal  liberty, 
a  movement  was  begun  for  the  opposite  purpose.  Socie 
ties  were  formed  in  Missouri  with  the  avowed  object  of 
settling  the  Territory  with  slave-holders  or  sympathizers 
with  slavery,  and  scores  of  men  went  there  to  take  pos 
session  of  lands  and  enter  pre-emption  claims. 

The  work  was  done  with  very  little  pretence  of  hon 
esty,  many  of  the  claimants  returning  to  Missouri  as  soon 
as  they  had  made  their  entries  and  filed  the  necessary 
papers  at  the  land  offices.  "  Blue  Lodges,"  "  Social 
Bands,"  "  Sons  of  the  South,"  and  similar  societies  in 
the  interest  of  slavery,  sprung  into  existence  and  the 
colonization  was  active. 


36  HISTORY   OF   THE   REPUBLICAN   PARTY. 

Thus  was  begun  the  struggle  for  freedom  or  slavery 
in  Kansas ;  its  history  would  fill  hundreds  of  pages  of 
this  volume,  and  many  of  them  would  need  to  be 
written  in  blood.  Emigrants  from  the  north  were  mur 
dered  by  roving  bands  of  Missourians ;  villages  were  laid 
waste  and  their  inhabitants  massacred  in  cold  blood; 
men  were  placed  in  boats  without  oars  and  set  adrift  on 
the  Missouri  river  for  no  other  offence  than  that  they 
were  from  northern  States.  Others  were  tarred  and 
feathered,  and  otherwise  maltreated  for  similar  reasons. 

When  the  first  election  was  held  several  hundreds 
of  Missourians  crossed  the  border,  voted  at  the  polls  as 
citizens  of  Kansas,  and  returned  immediately  to  their 
homes  when  the  voting  was  over.  In  this  and  other  ways 
Kansas  was  made  to  appear  to  be  in  favor  of  slavery ; 
her  Free-State  inhabitants  made  an  indignant  protest  and 
a  new  election  was  ordered.  For  a  time  there  was  a 
serious  conflict  of  authority  between  the  people  and  the 
office-holders ;  the  former  were  mostly  from  the  north 
and  in  favor  of  freedom,  while  the  latter  were  in  sympa 
thy  with  the  slave-holders. 

The  city  of  Lawrence  was  attacked  and  burned  by  an 
armed  force  from  Missouri  and  other  southern  tates ; 
Osawatomie  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Territory  suf 
fered  the  same  fate  ;  and  it  appeared  at  one  time  as 
though  the  whole  of  the  embryo  state  would  be  laid  to 
waste. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REPUBLICAN   PARTY.  37 

The  troubles  in  Kansas  continued  through  1855  and 
1856,  and  in  the  latter  year  conventions  were  held  for 
the  nomination  of  candidates  for  the  presidency.  The 
Tariff  Question  was  of  secondary  importance,  while  that 
of  slavery  occupied  the  foremost  rank.  Long  before  the 
first  of  the  conventions  was  called  together  it  was  evi 
dent  to  all  careful  observers  that  great  changes  would 
be  made  in  the  positions  of  the  parties  in  the  impending 
contest. 


CHAPTER  II. 


FORMATION    AND    GROWTH    OF    THE    REPUB 
LICAN  PARTY. 

Dissolution  of  the  Whig  Party. — The  "Know-Nothings"  and 
Their  Principles. — Origin  of  the  Republican  Party. — The  National 
Conventions.  —  Election  of  1856.— Abraham  Lincoln.  —  Dramatic 
Incident  at  Blooniington. — A  Thrilling  Event  in  Political  Organiza 
tion. — Harmonizing  Differences. — Brooks  and  Sumner. — The  Dred 
Scott  Decision. — The  Charleston  Convention. — How  the  Democratic 
Party  was  Sundered. — The  Election  of  Lincoln. — The  War  and  Its 
Results. — Recent  History  of  the  Party. — The  Nation's  Progress 
Under  Republican  Rule. 

The  old  Whig  party  had  been  dissolved  through  the 
action  of  its  leaders  in  adopting  the  principles  of  slavery, 
and  new  parties  were  in  process  of  organization.  At 
many  of  the  elections  in  the  northern  states  in  1854 
and  '55,  they  appeared  at  the  polls  in  considerable  force, 
and  in  some  of  the  States  the  local  elections  were  carried 
by  them. 

One  was  known  as  the  American  party,  and  also  as 
the  "  Know-Nothings  "  ;  it  was  opposed  to  foreign  influ 
ence,  and  had  an  especial  dread  of  Catholicism,  and  in 

(38) 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REPUBLICAN   PARTY.  39 

order  to  counteract  the  power  of  that  religion,  the  leaders 
had  deemed  it  expedient  to  make  a  secret  organization. 
Lodges  were  formed  every  where  through  the  Northern 
States,  and  in  many  localities  they  had  things  pretty 
much  as  they  liked.  At  the  same  time  another  party, 
known  as  Free-Soilers,  and  later  as  Republicans,  was 
rapidly  gaining  strength  ;  it  cared  little  for  the  influence 
of  foreigners,  but  was  outspoken  in  its  hostility  to 
slavery. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  these  two  parties  were  not  very 
widely  separated,  though  the  objects  which  they  sought 
to  accomplish  were  dissimilar.  The  American,  as  its 
name  implied,  was  composed  of  native-born  citizens, 
or  of  foreigners  who  had  altogether  cast  themselves 
loose  from  the  countries  of  their  birth,  and  determined 
to  spend  the  rest  of  their  lives  under  the  shelter  of  the 
Stars  and  Stripes. 

The  first  national  convention  of  the  Republicans  was 
held  at  Pittsburgh  on  the  22d  of  February,  1856,  but  it 
made  no  nominations ;  on  the  same  day  the  American 
party  met  in  convention  at  Philadelphia,  its  council 
having  held  a  secret  session  three  days  before,  and 
adopted  a  platform  of  principles.  The  most  important 
feature  of  it  was  a  plank  which  affirmed  the  right  of  the 
people  of  a  territory  to  decide  upon  its  own  institutions 
whenever  they  had  sufficient  population  to  entitle  them 
to  one  representative  in  Congress,  but  with  the  proviso 


40  HISTORY   OF   THE  REPUBLICAN   PARTY. 

that  only  those  who  were  actual  residents  of  the  terri 
tory  and  citizens  of  the  United  States  according  to  its 
laws,  should  have  any  voice  in  forming  the  constitution 
or  making  the  laws  of  said  state  or  territory. 

This  was  not  satisfactory  to  the  anti-Nebraska  element 
in  the  convention,  and  after  an  attempt  to  harmonize 
the  platform,  fifty  of  the  delegates  withdrew  altogether 
from  the  assemblage.  The  remainder  proceeded  to 
ballot  for  candidates,  and  finally  chose  Millard  Fillmore 
and  A.  J.  Donelson  as  their  standard-bearers  in  the 
presidential  contest. 

This  nomination  was  ratified  by  a  Whig  convention  in 
Baltimore  in  September,  and  consequently  Fillmore  and 
Donelson  were  the  candidates  of  the  united  Whig  and 
American  parties  in  1856. 

The  Republicans  held  a  convention  in  Philadelphia  on 
the  17th  of  June  and  nominated  John  C.  Fremont  and 
William  L.  Dayton.  The  platform  adopted  on  this 
occasion  declared  emphatically  the  hostility  of  the 
convention  to  slavery  and  polygamy,  the  "  twin  relics  of 
barbarism,"  which  it  was  the  right  and  duty  of  Congress 
to  prohibit  in  the  territories. 

It  further  denied  the  right  of  any  territorial  legislature 
to  establish  slavery  in  any  form,  as  long  as  the  Constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States  remained  in  force.  The  work 
of  the  convention  was  enthusiastically  received  through 
out  the  North,  and  the  canvass  for  Fremont  and  Dayton 
will  long  be  remembered  by  those  who  took  part  in  it. 


HISTORY   OP  THE  REPUBLICAN   PARTY..  41 

The  Democrats  in  their  convention,  on  the  2d  of  June, 
nominated  James  Buchanan  and  John  C.  Breckenridge, 
and  adopted  a  platform  in  which  was  maintained  the 
right  of  the  territories  to  choose  for  themselves  whether 
they  should  have  slavery  or  not.  The  elections  of 
Pennsylvania  and  Indiana  in  October  showed  that  the 
Democrats  were  pretty  certain  to  win  in  the  presidential 
contest,  but  the  opposition  showed  more  strength  than  it 
had  been  credited  with  by  the  Democrats. 

Fillmore  only  carried  the  single  state  of  Maryland, 
while  the  Republicans  were  successful  in  New  York,  all 
the  New  England  states,  Ohio,  Michigan,  Wisconsin, 
and  Iowa,  thus  giving  their  candidates  114  electoral 
votes.  The  Democrats  were  victorious  in  all  the  slave 
states  except  Maryland,  and  all  the  other  northern 
States  which  did  not  go  for  Fremont ;  the  total  popular 
votes  were  as  follows : 

Buchanan,  1,838,169. 

Fremont,  1,341,264. 

Fillmore,  874,534. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  Democrats  only  won  the 
election  by  a  plurality,  as  they  lacked  377,629  votes  of 
a  majority.  But  a  miss  is  as  good  as  a  mile  in  politics 
as  in  anything  else,  and  Buchanan  had  a  clear  majority 
of  60  electoral  votes  over  his  opponents. 

In  this  election  the  American  party  did  not  mani 
fest  the  strength  which  many  of  its  supporters  had 


42  HISTORY   OF  THE  REPUBLICAN   PARTY. 

confidently  looked  for,  and  it  became  evident  that 
large  numbers  of  its  constituents  had  voted  with  the 
Republicans.  They  realized  that  there  were  foreign 
ers  and  foreigners ;  there  were  those  who  came  here 
only  for  a  brief  sojourn,  or  retaining  all  their  old- 
world  prejudices,  and  others  who  came  intending  to 
reside  here  and  become  citizens  in  every  sense  of  the 
word.  The  most  intelligent  of  the  foreigners  were  in 
favor  of  freedom,  and  they  naturally  turned  to  the 
Republicans  as  their  best  friends ;  the  hostility  to  for 
eign  influences  did  not  always  make  fine  discriminations, 
and  a  good  many  of  the  adopted  citizens  could  not  be 
induced  to  enroll  themselves  under  the  banners  of  the 
American  party,  though  they  were  in  general  sympathy 
with  its  principles. 

The  Republican  party  had  its  beginning  in  the  North 
west,  and  after  the  presidential  contest  of  1856  there 
was  a  cordial  union  between  many  of  the  foreign-born 
citizens  and  the  "Americans."  The  movement  had 
begun  before  this  time  but  had  not  made  much  progress 
on  account  of  the  prejudices  just  stated ;  for  a  good 
many  years  the  Democracy  had  managed  to  control  a 
large  part  of  the  foreigners  by  the  attraction  of  its  name, 
and  even  at  the  present  time  it  retains  many  voters  of 
Hibernian  origin  in  the  large  cities  of  the  North  and 
South.  But  the  Germans,  Norwegians,  and  Swedes  were 
not  disposed  to  cast  their  lot  with  a  party  that  favored 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REPUBLICAN   PARTY.  43 

human  oppression,  and  when  they  saw  the  new  organ 
ization  011  the  basis  of  universal  liberty  they  were  not 
slow  to  join  it.  A  leader  was  wanted  for  the  new  party, 
and  he  was  found  in  the  person  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

And  here  is  a  bit  of  local  history  which  deserves  a 
place  in  our  record.  We  quote  from  Arnold's  "  Lincoln 
and  Slavery,"  page  93. 

"  A  convention  of  the  people  of  Illinois  was  called  at 
Bloomington,  in  May  1856,  to  appoint  delegates  to  the 
National  Convention  which  was  to  meet  at  Philadelphia 
in  June,  to  nominate  candidates  for  President  and  Vice- 
President.  The  Free-soil  Democrats,  Anti-Nebraska 
Democrats,  Whigs,  Americans,  and  liberty  men  of  Illi 
nois,  and  of  all  nationalities  were  brought  together  at 
this  convention,  and  mainly  through  the  influence  of  Mr. 
Lincoln,  united  on  the  broad  platform  of  the  declaration 
of  independence,  and  hostility  to  the  extension  of 
slavery. 

"  Great  difficulty  was  found  in  laying  down  a  satisfac 
tory  platform  of  principles ;  finally,  after  much  contro 
versy  and  discussion,  with  no  satisfactory  result,  Mr. 
Lincoln,  who  was  not  present,  was  sent  for  by  the  Com 
mittee  on  Resolutions,  and  he  solved  the  difficulty  by 
suggesting  that  all  could  unite  on  the  principles  embodied 
in  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  hostility  to  the 
extension  of  slavery.  This  suggestion  was  immediately 
accepted.  '  Let  us,'  said  he, c  in  building  our  new  party, 


44  HISTORY   OF  THE  REPUBLICAN   PARTY. 

plant  ourselves  on  the  rock  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  be  able  to  pre 
vail  against  us/  The  convention  thereupon  resolved  : 

"  That  all  men  are  indowed  with  the  inalienable  right 
to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness ;  and  that 
the  object  of  government  is  to  secure  these  rights  to  all 
persons  within  its  jurisdiction.'  This  and  hostility  to 
slavery,  and  a  determination  to  resist  its  further  exten 
sion,  was  the  substance  of  the  platform  adopted.  Thus 
was  organized  the  party  that  revolutionized  the  Demo 
cratic  state  of  Illinois  against  the  powerful  influence  of 
Douglas,  and  ultimately  elected  Mr.  Lincoln  to  the  Presi 
dency." 

At  the  convention  in  Philadelphia  there  was  the  same 
difficulty  in  overcoming  the  differences  between  the  vari 
ous  elements,  and  the  platform  was  substantially  the 
same  as  the  one  in  Illinois.  But  it  needed  a  little  more 
time  to  cement  the  union  between  them,  and  in  this 
respect  fortune  favored  the  new  party  through  the  blun 
ders  of  the  old.  History  is  said  to  repeat  itself,  and  the 
Democratic  party  of  to-day  is  not  above  giving  aid  to  its 
opponents  through  its  own  mistakes. 

During  the  year  a  brutal  attack  was  made  upon  Charles 
Sumner,  Senator  from  Massachusetts,  by  Preston  S. 
Brooks  of  South  Carolina.  Sumner  had  made,  a  speech 
on  the  Kansas  question  in  which  he  spoke  severely  of 
Butler,  a  relative  of  Brooks.  The  latter  came  to  the 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REPUBLICAN   PARTY.  45 

defence  of  his  kinsman  by  striking  Mr.  Sumner  with  a 
cane  while  he  was  seated  at  his  desk,  and  wholly  una 
ware  of  his  assailant's  presence.  Mr.  Sumner  was 
beaten  until  he  was  insensible  and  several  friends  of 
Brooks  stood  by  to  prevent  interference  with  the  latter's 
brutality. 

The  cowardly  act  of  Brooks  was  applauded  through 
the  South,  and  the  would-be  assassin  was  for  the  time  a 
hero  among  his  own  people.  This  event  roused  the  peo 
ple  of  the  North  more  than  any  other  single  occurrence 
of  the  year,  and  showed  that  slavery  was  justly  to  be 
considered  the  sum  of  all  villainies.  The  House  of 
Representatives  of  which  Brooks  was  a  member,  did  not 
see  fit  to  expel  him,  but  contented  itself  with  a  vote  of 
censure. 

In  the  beginning  of  Buchanan's  administration  the 
famous  Dred  Scott  decision  was  pronounced  by  Chief 
Justice  Taney,  to  the  effect  that  no  person  whose  ances 
tors  had  been  imported  to  this  country  and  sold  as  slaves 
had  any  right  to  sue  in  a  court  of  the  United  States  ;  in 
other  words,  no  person  who  had  been  a  slave  or  was 
descended  from  a  slave  had  any  right  of  citizenship. 
The  learned  judge  decided  that  our  Revolutionary  fathers 
in  the  Declaration  of  Independence  regarded  the  black 
men  "  as  so  far  inferior  that  they  had  no  rights  which 
the  white  man  was  bound  to  respect,"  and  that  "they 
were  never  thought  or  spoken  of  except  as  property." 


46  HISTORY   OF   THE   REPUBLICAN  JPARTY. 

He  further  declared  that  the  Missouri  Compromise  act, 
and  all  other  acts  restricting  slavery,  were  unconstitu 
tional,  and  that  neither  Congress  nor  local  legislatures 
had  any  right  to  legislate  for  the  restriction  of  slavery. 

Mr.  Buchanan  had  predicted  that  this  decision  would 
settle  the  question  of  slavery,  speedily  and  finally.  Its 
effect  was  to  make  the  agitation  greater  than  ever  and 
rouse  the  spirit  of  hostility  in  the  North. 

One  of  the  results  of  this  excitement  was  the  raid  of 
John  Brown,  in  Virginia,  a  clear  violation  of  the  laws 
of  the  State  for  which  the  leader  was  executed  on  the 
scaffold.  The  southern  states  became  alarmed,  not  only 
at  the  occurrence  itself,  but  at  the  open  sympathy  which 
was  manifested  through  the  North  for  John  Brown's 
detestation  of  slavery.  Many  good  citizens,  while  know 
ing  the  act  to  be  unjustifiable  according  to  the  laws  of 
the  land,  realized  that  the  hero  of  Harper's  Ferry  had 
suffered  much,  and  his  work  was  the  natural  outcome  of 
his  experience. 

From  1856  to  1860  the  various  elements  opposed  to 
Democracy  and  the  slave-power  had  been  uniting,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  Democrats  had  followed  a  course  that 
was  not  calculated  to  unite  them  firmly.  The  elections 
in  1859  showed  that  the  Republican  party  had  gained 
greatly  since  the  last  contest  for  the  presidency,  and  the 
days  of  the  slave-power  were  numbered.  The  leaders  of 
the  slave-holders  saw  there  was  no  chance  of  their  elect- 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REPUBLICAN   PARTY.  47 

ing  the  man  of  their  choice,  and  they  proceeded  to  plot 
for  the  dissolution  of  the  Union  by  first  dissolving  the 
Democratic  party. 

It  was  their  plan  to  make  use  of  a  Republican  victory 
by  declaring  that  the  President  thus  elected  was  a  sec 
tional  one,  opposed  to  the  institution  of  slavery,  and 
therefore  dangerous  as  the  head  of  the  nation;  they 
would  then  be  justified  in  withdrawing  from  the  Union, 
and  setting  up  for  themselves.  Only  a  few  of  the  leaders 
were  in  the  secret,  or  were  consulted  in  the  preliminaries ; 
but  it  is  evident  that  the  movement  for  secession  was 
popular  from  the  outset. 

The  National  Democratic  Convention  met  in  Charleston 
on  the  23d  of  April,  1860,  for  the  purpose  of  nominating 
candidates  for  the  presidency  and  vice-presidency.  Many 
of  the  delegates  from  the  Slave  States  had  come  with 
instructions  to  demand  from  the  Convention  a  guaranty 
for  the  speedy  practical  recognition,  by  the  general  gov 
ernment  and  the  people,  of  the  system  of  slavery  as  a 
national  institution. 

The  Convention  reaffirmed  the  Cincinnati  platform  of 
popular  sovereignty,  of  which  Douglas  was  the  exponent, 
whereupon  the  Alabama  delegation,  through  its  leader, 
Leroy  P.  Walker,  withdrew  from  the  Convention.  Their 
action  was  followed  on  that  and  the  succeeding  day  by 
nearly  all  the  delegates  from  the  other  slaveholding 
States,  and  the  disruption  of  the  Democratic  party  was 
complete. 


48  HISTORY   OF  THE  REPUBLICAN   PARTY. 

The  seceders,  under  the  leadership  of  James  A.  Bayard 
of  Delaware,  assembled  the  next  day,  and  adjourned  to 
meet  in  Richmond,  and  subsequently  in  Baltimore,  where 
they  nominated  John  C.  Breckenridge  as  their  candidate 
for  the  presidency.  The  regular  convention  also  met  in 
Baltimore,  and  nominated  Mr.  Douglas  to  be  their  stand 
ard-bearer  in  the  presidential  contest. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  a  small  party,  claiming  to  repre 
sent  the  Constitution  and  the  Union  (founded  on  the 
ruins  of  the  "  American  "  party),  nominated  John  Bell 
of  Tennessee,  and  on  the  16th  of  the  same  month,  the 
Republican  Convention  met  in  the  famous  wigwam  at 
Chicago.  A  platform,  of  which  the  main  feature  was 
open  hostility  to  slavery,  was  adopted,  and  on  the  19th  of 
that  month  Abraham  Lincoln  and  Hannibal  Hamlin  were 
chosen  as  the  candidates  for  the  two  great  offices  for 
which  there  was  to  be  a  struggle  with  most  momentous 
consequences,  as  was  shown  by  subsequent  events. 

Four  parties  were  thus  in  the  field,  but  only  two  of 
them  represented  tangible  interests,  and  met  face  to  face 
in  battle.  These  were  the  pro-slavery  wing  of  the 
Democracy,  and  the  Republican  party,  now  clearly 
denned  as  the  opponent  of  slavery,  and  all  that  it 
represented. 

The  contest  was  active  throughout  the  country,  but 
the  hopeless  division  in  the  Democracy  enabled  the  Re 
publicans  to  carry  every  Free  State  except  New  Jersey. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REPUBLICAN   PARTY.  49 

Mr.  Lincoln  received  180  electoral  votes  against  123  of 
all  others,  the  latter  being  given  as  follows :  Breckeu- 
ridge  72,  Bell  39,  and  Douglas  12. 

In  the  popular  vote  Mr.  Lincoln  received  976,163  less 
than  all  his  opponents,  and  thus  gave  occasion  for  the 
cry  that  he  would  be  a  usurper  of  the  presidential  office, 
as  he  had  not  received  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  at 
the  election.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Taylor  and 
Buchanan  were  elected  in  just  the  same  manner,  but  the 
Democrats  never  urged  that  either  of  them  should  decline 
the  honors  of  being  chief  of  the  nation  on  that  account. 

Thus  was  elected  the  first  Republican  President,  and 
the  time  between  his  election  and  inauguration  was  used 
to  good  advantage  by  the  leaders  of  the  secession  move- 
ment.  The  events  that  followed  were  too  numerous  to 
be  recapitulated  here, — too  numerous  to  permit  even  the 
briefest  history. 

Out  of  the  triumph  of  the  Republican  party  in  1860, 
grew  the  war  which  was  waged  on  one  side  for  the 
destruction  of  the  Union,  and  on  the  other  for  its  preser 
vation.  It  was  a  war  which  has  few  if  any  parallels  in 
history ;  a  war  in  which  an  entire  nation  was  divided 
against  itself ;  a  war  in  which  were  engaged  millions  of 
men  speaking  the  same  language  and  inhabiting  the 
same  country ;  a  war  where  prodigies  of  valor  were  dis 
played  on  both  sides,  and  where  countless  deeds  of  indi 
vidual  bravery  were  performed. 
3 


50  HISTORY   OP  THE  REPUBLICAN   PARTY. 

It  was  a  contest  for  an  idea,  the  integrity  of  the  Union 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  right  to  withdraw  from  it  on 
the  other.  Families  were  divided,  communities  were 
broken  up,  brother  fought  against  brother,  and  son 
against  father,  in  this  war  which  had  for  its  beginning 
the  restriction  or  the  extension  of  the  privileges  of  the 
owner  of  slaves.  As  time  wore  on  the  causes  of  the 
strife  were  partially  forgotten.  The  arbitrament  of  the 
sword  to  which  the  South  had  appealed  decided  against 
it.  Her  armies  were  vanquished ;  slavery  was  forever 
abolished,  and  after  four  years  of  internecine  strife  peace 
was  restored  throughout  the  land. 

Twenty  years  have  sufficed  in  great  measure,  at  least 
to  allay  the  passions  that  were  aroused  by  the  civil  war, 
and  to  knit  the  people  of  the  country  in  more  friendly 
relations.  Few  of  those  who  fought  under  the  confeder 
ate  flag  would  desire  to  see  the  old  state  of  things  re 
stored,  and  the  rights  of  the  slave-holder  established  as 
they  were  before  the  war. 

The  South  has  entered  upon  an  era  of  prosperity  such 
as  she  had  never  known  before.  She  has  established 
manufacturing  and  other  industries,  and  promises  to  be 
come  very  speedily  the  friendly  rival  of  the  North  in  the 
arts  and  arms  of  peace.  Every  year  sees  a  more  kindly 
feeling  existing  between  what  were  once  two  distinct 
sections  of  the  country,  but  now  possessing  a  common 
interest. 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REPUBLICAN   PARTY.  51 

Since  1860  the  Republican  party  has  uninterruptedly 
held  control  of  the  presidental  chair,  and  administered 
the  affairs  of  the  executive  branch  of  the  national  gov 
ernment.  Under  it  the  country  has  been  prosperous, 
its  population  and  wealth  have  been  greatly  increased, 
new  channels  of  trade  and  industry  have  been  opened, 
and  railways  have  been  extended  across  the  continent  to 
unite  the  Pacific  with  the  Atlantic  Coast. 

The  salient  events  in  the  history  of  the  party  in  this 
last  quarter  of  a  century  are  too  recent  to  need  recapitu 
lation.  It  has  sought  to  deal  justly  with  all  interests 
of  the  whole  country,  and  that  it  has  been  successful  the 
prosperity  of  the  nation  is  sufficient  proof.  That  it  has 
made  occasional  errors  its  candid  adherents  will  freely 
admit ;  parties,  like  men,  are  not  omniscient,  and  the 
wisest  among  us  cannot  predict  with  unerring  accuracy 
the  outcome  of  all  political  or  personal  actions.  But  the 
party  which  has  successfully  guided  the  Ship  of  State 
through  a  voyage  fraught  with  the  perils  of  civil  war,  and 
the  attendant  evils  can  be  safely  trusted  for  at  least  the 
remainder  of  the  nineteenth  century. 


CHAPTER   III. 


JAMES  G.  ELAINE— HIS  BOYHOOD  AND  EARLY 

LIFE. 

History  of  the  Elaine  Family,— A  Hero  of  the  Revolution.— 
Church  and  Cemetery  in  West  Brownsville,  Pennsylvania. — Ephraim 
L.  Blaine,  Father  of  the  Republican  Standard  Bearer. — Two  Graves 
in  the  Churchyard.— The  Gillespie  Family.— A  Talk  with  Old  Resi 
dents  of  Brownsvilleo — Birthplace  of  James  G,  Blame.— His  Boy 
hood  and  Early  Life, — An  Interesting  Story  of  His  Childhood. — The 
Child  Father  to  the  Man. — "There,  take  that." — Getting  the  best  of 
his  Enemy. — Life  on  the  Monongahela. — An  Old  Tradition. — His 
Life  in  College. — A  Leader  in  Studies,  Sports,  and  Pranks.— Loved 
by  His  Fellow  Students. — Graduated  with  High  Honors., 

JAMES  G.  BLAINE,  the  Republican  standard  bearer 
in  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1884,  is  now  in  the  fifty- 
fifth  year  of  his  life.  He  was  born  January  31, 1830,  in 
the  village  of  West  Brownsville,  Union  Township,  Wash 
ington  County,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  early  years  of  his 
life  were  passed  in  that  region.  His  ancestors  were 
Scotch-Irish,  and  he  preserves  in  his  features  the  dis 
tinctive  type  of  that  rugged  stock  which  had  a  prominent 
part  in  the  colonization  of  this  country.  James  G. 
Blaine  is  descended  from  the  pioneers  who  settled  the 

(52) 


••^21 

~:^;<^.zs?, 
^S;;\ISiiS^sSr^^.^>^ 


r-w^s'-*"'  -^-^:.-''  -'///''- '*J\          , 


BIRTHPLACE    AND     EARLY     HOME     OF     JAMES     G.      ELAINE, 
AT    BROWNSVILLE,     PENN. 

(Fro»i  a  recent  photograph  by  A.  M.  Thompson,  Brownsrille.) 


LIFE   OF   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  55 

valley  in  which  Carlisle  is  situated,  and  afterwards  crossed 
the  range  of  the  Alleghcnies  and  colonized  the  region 
beyond.  The  visitor  may  see  to-day  the  stone  Presbyte 
rian  church  in  West  Brownsville  which  was  built  by  the 
second  generation  of  the  settlers,  and  the  cemetery  near 
by  contains  many  a  gravestone  whence  a  modern  "  Old 
Mortality"  might  derive  the  material  for  an  interesting 
story. 

Close  to  the  church  is  an  old  house  which  was  the  resi 
dence  of  Colonel  Ephraim  Elaine,  the  great-grandfather 
of  the  present  Republican  candidate  for  the  Presidency. 
Colonel  Elaine  was  an  officer  of  the  Revolution ;  he  was 
originally  a  colonel  of  the  Pennsylvania  Line  where  he 
made  an  honorable  record,  but  in  the  last  four  years  of 
the  wrar  he  was  Commissary-General  of  the  Northern 
Department.  His  abilities  were  severely  tested  as  the 
country  was  without  credit  and  the  purchase  of  supplies 
was  attended  with  many  difficulties.  During  the  dread 
ful  winter  when  the  army  was  in  camp  at  Valley  Forge, 
he  did  much  toward  mitigating  the  sufferings  of  the 
soldiers  and  received  the  personal  thanks  of  the  Com 
mander-in-chief  for  his  efficiency. 

Ephraim  L.  Elaine,  the  grandson  of  Colonel  Elaine, 
and  father  of  James  G.,  was  known  among  his  neighbors 
as  "Squire  Elaine,"  and  held  in  great  respect.  He 
kept  open  house  and  lived  generously  as  became  a  gentle 
man  of  his  position.  In  the  shadow  of  the  old  church 


56  LIFE   OF   JAMES  G.   ELAINE. 

there  are  two  graves  marked  by  a  single  stone  which 
bears  the  inscription 


EPHRAIM    L.    ELAINE 

AND 

MARIA    GILLESPIE    ELAINE. 


A  correspondent  who  recently  visited  the  spot  writes 
as  follows  concerning  the  cemetery  and  the  graves  to 
which  reference  has  just  been  made  : 

"  There  is  a  gift  that  is  potent  when  one  calls  upon  the 
dusty  past  in  a  grave-yard.  It  is  to  learn  the  history 
and  genius  of  the  human  life  that  ended  when  the  mound 
was  raised  and  the  inscription  cut  in  the  stone  that 
arrests  attention.  Who  was  it  that  said  that  people  too 
often  read  the  inscriptions  upon  tombstones  without 
knowing  or  caring  aught  of  the  genius  that  once  resided 
in  the  inanimate  dust  beneath  them  ?  He  spoke  the 
truth,  and  how  much  people  often  miss  by  being  content 
with  what  is  recorded  above-ground. 

"  I  stood  beside  two  old  graves  to-day  in  this  village 
that  quickly  recalled  to  me  Longfellow's  beautiful  lines : 

"  '  See  how  the  ivy  climbs  and  expands 

Over  this  humble  hermitage, 
And  seems  to  cover  with  its  little  hands 
The  rough,  gray  stones,  as  a  child  that  stands 

Caressing  the  wrinkled  cheeks  of  age.' 


LIFE   OF   JAMES   G.    ELAINE,  57 

The  marble  that  marked  them  was  much  newer  than 
the  mounds,  and  the  surroundings  impressed  me  with  the 
thought  that  a  dutiful  and  reverent  son  had,  years  after, 
when  means  and  opportunity  came  that  were  wanting 
when  death  called  father  and  mother,  placed  a  fitting 
monument  to  mark  the  spot  where  they  slept.  It  is  a 
plain,  unpretentious  stone  that  marks  these  graves,  and 
it  was  the  names  only  that  attracted  my  attention. 

" '  Who  were  these  two  people  in  life  ? '  I  asked  of  an 
old  gentleman,  who  had  wandered  along  with  me  to  this 
quiet  city  of  the  dead. 

"  <  Why,  they  were  the  father  and  mother  of  James  G. 
Elaine.  I  knew  them  both  well.  Eph.  Elaine  and  I  went 
to  school  together.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  this 
town,  and  was  'squire  here  for  many  a  year.  He  was 
elected  prothonotary  of  the  county  in  1842,  and  moved 
to  Washington,  the  county  seat.  He  married  Maria,  a 
daughter  of  old  Neal  Gillespie,  the  smartest  man  in  this 
section,  and  from  his  people  James  Gillespie  Elaine 
derives  his  middle  name.  The  Gillespies  were  among 
the  most  prominent  families  in  the  State.  The  seal  of 
nature's  nobility  was  stamped  upon  them,  one  and  all. 
The  men  were  brave  and  stalwart;  as  strong  in  charac 
ter,  too,  as  they  were  stout  of  limb.  The  women  were 
very  handsome,  and  carried  themselves  as  proudly  as 
though  the  blood  of  a  hundred  earls  were  coursing 
through  their  veins.  The  beauty  of  old  Mrs.  Elaine, 


58  LIFE   OF  JAMES  G.   ELAINE. 

James'  mother,  passed  into  a  proverb.  Even  in  her 
decrepit  age  she  preserved  much  of  her  early  attractive 
ness,  and  her  eye  was  like  a  hawk's,  as  clear  and  flashing 
then  as  in  the  days  of  her  budding  womanhood.  This 
was  a  peculiarity  of  her  family,  and  she  transmitted  it 
to  all  her  children.  The  Gillespies  were  ardent,  intense 
Catholics,  and  made  their  religion  the  leading  feature  of 
their  lives.  Neal  Gillespie  owned  a  good  deal  of  land 
about  here,  and  Eph.  Elaine  built  the  brick  house  you  see 
yonder  on  a  portion  of  it,  after  his  marriage  with  Miss 
Gillespie.  There  their  first  child,  James,  was  born  in 
1830.  I  remember  him  very  well  when  he  was  a  lad  and 
used  to  paddle  about  on  the  river  and  make  mud  pies 
along  its  banks.  He  was  a  bright  lad. 

"  '  I  remember  one  little  story  about  him,  which  I  often 
heard  ki  those  days,  and  which  is  interesting  as  showing 
how  truly,  in  his  case,  the  child  was  father  to  the  man. 
When  he  was  but  a  little  toddler,  so  to  speak,  some 
laborers  were  engaged  digging  a  well  on  his  father's  prem 
ises.  The  future  statesman  was  caught  one  morning 
peering  down  into  the  excavation,  and  one  of  the  men, 
with  the  idea  of  frightening  him  and  thus  preventing 
him  from  again  putting  himself  in  danger,  thrust  his 
shovel  toward  him,  and  made  all  sorts  of  ugly  faces. 
Jim  ran  away,  but  only  to  nurse  his  anger  and  await  an 
opportunity  to  revenge. 

" '  Venturing  to  the  well  a  day  or  two  after  he  had  been 


LIFE   OP   JAMES   G.    BLAINE.  59 

driven  away,  he  found  the  men  working  away  at  the  bot 
tom.  Improving  the  opportunity,  he  seized  a  clod  of 
earth  and  hurled  it  with  all  his  little  might  full  at  the 
head  of  his  unsuspecting  enemy,  with  the  consolatory 
remark,  "  There,  take  that."  Clod  followed  clod  in  fast 
succession,  with  accompanying  expletives,  until  the  men 
were  fairly  beside  themselves  with  rage  and  with  the  fear 
that  the  desperate  child  might  take  it  into  his  head  to  use 
some  of  the  stones  lying  about  him  as  messengers  of 
wrath  more  effective  than  mere  lumps  of  earth.  Their 
shouts,  however,  brought  his  mother  to  the  scene,  and 
the  little  avenger  was  unceremoniously  hustled  off  to  the 
house.  That  was  the  old  blood  asserting  itself.  A  Gil- 
lespie  or  a  Elaine  never  turned  his  back  upon  friend  or 
foe. 

" '  That's  the  new  packet  James  Gr.  Elaine  that  runs 
from  here  to  Pittsburg.  The  two  people  who  sleep  in 
this  graveyard  little  thought  when  they  died  that  they'd 
have  a  son  big  enough  to  have  a  packet  named  for  him. 
They  died  when  Jim  was  young,  and  they  didn't  leave 
anything  for  him  to  start  with  either.  Eph.  Elaine  was 
a  rich  man  once.  His  grandfather  left  him  some  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  but  he  spent  it  having  a  good  time.  He 
was  not  a  money -saver,  but  believed  in  enjoying  the  world 
as  he  lived.  The  Gillespies  wasn't  so  slow  either,  but 
Eph.  Elaine  led  'em  all  in  this  country.  It's  no  wonder 
Jim  Elaine  is  smart.  He  comes  of  good  stock  on  both 


60  LIFE   OP   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

sides.  All  the  Gillespies  were  smart.  Neal  Gillespie 
was  the  biggest  brained  man  in  all  this  country.'  " 

"  <  Do  the  Blaines  or  any  of  the  relatives  own  the  old 
homestead?'" 

"  <  No,  indeed.  It's  long  since  passed  into  strange 
hands.  There  was  little  of  either  the  Elaine  or  the  Gil 
lespie  estate  left  when  the  settlement  day  came.  The 
children  all  had  to  begin  new.  None  of  either  family 
live  about  here  now.'  " 

"  There  is  much  that  is  strange  in  the  story  that  the 
old  man  told  me,"  the  writer  continues,  "  and  much  more 
that  is  interesting.  We  finished  the  talk  beside  the  rest 
less  waters  of  the  Monongahela,  near  which  Mr.  Blaine 
was  born,  and  his  family  lived  for  years.  This  little 
brick  house  doesn't  stand  more  than  forty  rods  from  the 
river,  and  the  old  path  which  leads  from  the  doorway 
that  Blaine  helped  to  make  in  childhood,  is  still  there. 
The  best  boat  on  the  river  now  bears  his  name,  and  the 
plain  people  love  to  talk  of  his  having  been  born  in  their 
midst.  It  is  a  queer  section  of  the  country  in  which  to 
have  found  the  homes  of  two  such  families  as  the  Blaines 
and  the  Gillespies.  Both  strong  houses — both  fond  of 
the  best  things  of  this  life.  Both  educated  and  brainy. 

"  According  to  the  traditions  of  Washington  county, 
James  G.  Elaine's  grandfather  left  the  fertile  country 
near  Carlisle  early  in  the  present  century,  and  moved  into 
the  then  wilderness  of  the  Yougheny  region,  where  he 


LIFE   OF   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  61 

established  a  country  store  at  the  mouth  of  Ten  Mile 
Run,  in  Greene  County.  He  lived  there  but  a  short  time 
when  he  came  to  Brownsville,  with  his  wagon-load  of 
goods,  and  established  a  store,  which  he  kept  the  remain 
der  of  his  life.  The  Gillespie  family  was  then  a  rich  and 
powerful  family  in  the  region.  The  strength  of  mind 
and  character  for  which  all  the  family  were  noted,  is 
still  a  proverb  in  the  region. 

"  The  Monongahela  river  at  this  point  separates  the 
two  counties  of  Fayette  and  Washington — Brownsville 
is  on  the  Fayette  side  and  West  Brownsville  on  the  Wash 
ington  side.  They  are  both  quaint,  old  towns,  and  wear 
the  mark  of  many  years.  I  don't  suppose  there  are  1,500 
people  in  both,  and  the  houses  straggle  along  the  banks 
of  the  river  on  the  lowlands,  which  are  just  high  enough 
to  keep  them  out  of  the  reach  of  the  overflow.  This 
country  was  new — I  might  say  wild — when  the  Blaines 
and  the  Gillespies  came  here.  The  rich  treasures  of  the 
Yougheny  region  were  floated  down  the  Ohio  river  in 
rude  keel-boats,  and  the  untold  wealth  in  the  rugged 
mountains  was  then  unknown.  Albert  Gallatin  used  to 
live  in  this  country  then,  and  his  residence  was  but  a  few 
miles  up  the  river  from  this  point.  But  mighty  changes 
have  taken  place  since  those  days,  when  he  left  his  im 
press  upon  the  finances  and  credit  of  this  country  so  that 
it  can  never  be  effaced. 

"  There  seems  to  have  been  good  feeling  from  the  first 


02  LIFE    OF   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

between  the  Elaine  and  Gillespie  families,  and  there 
seems  to  have  been  a  special  care  to  intermingle  the 
family  names  as  each  son  was  born.  The  old  man  told 
me  that  nearly  every  son  in  the  Elaine  family,  as  in  the 
Gillespie,  wore  the  family  name  or  some  part  of  his  auto 
graph.  The  Gillespie  family  seemed  to  run  more  to  girls 
than  boys,  and  it  seemed  to  be  their  good  fortune  to  link 
their  fortunes  with  strong  men.  The  daughter  who  was 
next  in  age  to  Maria,  who  married  Ephraim  L.  Elaine, 
was  wedded  to  the  famous  Tom  Ewing  of  Ohio,  when  he 
was  a  poor  lawyer  in  Lancaster,  Pa.  That's  how  he  be 
came  an  uncle  of  James  G.  Elaine,  and  the  names  of 
Elaine  and  Ewing  became  joined. 

"  There  is  a  tradition  here  that  when  old  Tom  Ewing 
was  Secretary  of  the  Interior  Elaine  applied  to  him  for 
a  clerkship  and  the  old  man  sent  him  to  Kentucky  to 
earn  an  honest  living  teaching  school.  The  association 
of  the  name  of  Ewing  with  that  of  Elaine  has  given  rise 
to  the  stoiiy  that  the  Ewing  family  of  Ohio  helped  James 
G.  Elaine  to  an  education.  I  might  as  well  destroy  this 
fiction  by  telling  the  facts. 

"  A  short  drive  brought  me  to  Washington,  the  county 
seat  of  this  county,  and  one  of  the  first  men  I  met  was 
Major  John  H.  Ewing,  an  old  verteran  now  past  four 
score  years. 

"  '  I  married  the  sister  of  Ephraim  L.  Elaine.  He  and 
I  went  to  school  together  over  in  yonder  college,  and  I 


LIFE   OF   JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  03 

knew  him  nearly  all  his  life.  lie  was  a  leader  in  the 
mischief  of  the  school,  and  fond  of  all  the  good  things 
of  this  life.  He  was  the  handsomest  man  I  ever  saw, 
and  he  had  a  wife  that  was  a  match  for  him.  She  was 
one  of  the  noblest  women  I  ever  knew.  She  inherited 
all  the  sterling  traits  of  character  and  strength  of  mind 
for  which  the  Gillespies  were  noted.  So,  you  see,  Elaine 
sprang  from  the  best  stock  on  both  sides.' ' 

Miss  Gillespie,  who  married  Ephraim  Blaine,  and  be 
came  the  mother  of  his  children,  was  a  devout  Catholic ; 
but  the  seven  children,  five  boys  and  two  girls.,  were 
brought  up  in  the  Presbyterian  faith  of  their  father.  In 
1876  Mr.  Blaine  was  questioned  concerning  the  religious 
faith  of  his  family,  as  well  as  that  of  himself.  He  wrote 
the  following  reply : 

"  My  ancestors  on  my  father's  side  were,  as  you  know, 
always  identified  with  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  they 
were  prominent  and  honored  in  the  old  colony  of  Penn 
sylvania.  But  I  will  never  consent  to  make  any  public 
declaration  on  the  subject,  and  for  two  reasons :  First, 
because  I  abhor  the  introduction  of  anything  that  looks 
like  a  religious  test  or  qualification  for  office  in  a  republic 
where  perfect  freedom  of  conscience  is  the  birthright  of 
every  citizen  ;  and,  second,  because  my  mother  was  a  de 
voted  Catholic.  I  would  not  for  a  thousand  Presidencies 
speak  a  disrespectful  word  of  my  mother's  religion,  and 
no  pressure  will  draw  me  into  any  avowal  of  hostility  or 


64  LIFE   OF   JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

unfriendless  to  Catholics,  though  I  have  never  received, 
and  do  not  expect,  any  political  support  from  them." 

Since  his  residence  in  Augusta,  Maine,  Mr.  Elaine  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Orthodox  Congregational  church, 
which  is  almost  identical  with  the  Presbyterian  church 
of  Pennsylvania.  He  is  a  regular  attendant  upon  the 
services  of  the  church  during  all  his  Sundays  in  Augusta, 
and  is  conspicuous  in  all  its  works  of  charity. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  entered  Washington  college 
in  1843,  soon  after  he  had  passed  his  thirteenth  birthday. 
He  was  noted  for  his  aptness  at  learning  and  for  his 're 
tentive  memory,  and  it  was  remarked  of  him  that  while 
he  was  not  a  hard  student,  he  was  always  thoroughly  up 
in  his  lessons  and  answered  every  question  readily. 
There  were  two  or  three  hundred  other  boys  in  the 
school,  and  he  took  a  foremost  place  among  them,  partly 
in  consequence  of  his  excellent  scholarship  and  partly 
owing  to  his  fondness  for  athletic  sports.  His  magnifi 
cent  physique  was  in  his  favor,  and  in  all  the  running, 
leaping,  and  kindred  matches  he  carried  off  the  prize 
more  frequently  than  any  of  his  competitors.  In  the 
debating  societies  of  the  school  he  took  a  prominent  part, 
and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  reputation  he  has  since 
attained  as  one  of  the  foremost  speakers  of  the  country. 
He  had  a  fondness  for  the  difficult  side  of  the  question 
nather  than  the  easy  one,  and  usually  managed  to  bring 
his  listeners  around  to  his  way  of  thinking. 


LIFE    OF    JAMES   G.    ELAINE.  65 

According  to  those  who  knew  him  in  his  college  days 
he  was  the  leader  of  nearly  everything,  not  omitting 
some  of  the  pranks  for  which  students  are  famous.  The 
latter  performances  were  of  the  harmless  sort,  and  just 
numerous  enough  to  keep  the  juvenile  spirits  from  being 
altogether  obliterated  by  too  much  study.  One  friend 
says  of  him  :  "  To  the  new  scholars  who  entered  in  suc 
ceeding  classes  he  was  a  hero — uniformly  kind  to  them, 
ready  to  give  them  assistance  and  advice,  and  eager  to 
make  pleasant  their  path  in  college  life.  His  handsome 
person  and  neat  attire;  his  ready  sympathy  and  prompt 
assistance ;  his  frank,  generous  nature,  and  his  brave, 
manly  bearing,  made  him  the  best  known,  the  best 
loved,  and  the  most  popular  boy  at  college.  He  was  the 
arbiter  among  younger  boys  in  all  their  disputes,  and 
the  authority  with  those  of  his  own  age  on  all  questions. 
He  was  always  for  the  <  under  dog  in  the  fight.'^  And 
at  the  end  of  the  usual  four  years'  course  at  college,  he 
was  graduated  in  1847,  with  the  most  distinguished  hon 
ors  of  his  class,  and  went  forth  into  practical  life  well 
fitted  in  acquirements  and  training  to  deal  with  its  prob 
lems,  and  bearing  as  a  crown  of  his  youthful  honor  the 
affection  and  esteem  of  all  his  associates." 


CHAPTER    IV. 


ELAINE  AS  TEACHER,  EDITOR,  AND   CON- 
GRESSMAN. 

Going  West. — Professor  in  a  Military  School. — Married  to  Miss 
Stan  wood. — From  Kentucky  to  Philadelphia. — Teaching  in  the 
Pennsylvania  Institution  for  the  Blind. — The  Principal's  Reminis 
cences. — First  Literary  Work  by  James  G.  Elaine. — Careful  and 
Methodical  Arrangement. — Moves  to  Augusta,  Maine. — Editor  of  the 
Kennebec  Journal. — Editor  of  the  Portland  Advertiser. — Forming 
the  Republican  Party  in  Maine. — In  the  State  Legislature. — Elected 
to  Congress.— His  Career  There.— His  First  Great  Speech.— The 
War  Debts  of  the  States. — Speech  on  the  Finances. — Speaker  of 
Three  Congresses. — His  Skill  as  a  Debater  Acknowledged. 

After  liis  graduation  from  college,  young  Blaine  ob 
served  the  advice  of  Horace  Greeley,  though  the  founder 
of  the  Tribune  was  then  unknown  to  him.  Like  many 
another  enterprising  youth  of  his  time,  and  since,  he 
turned  his  hopes  towards  the  setting  sun.  An  opportu 
nity  came  in  the  shape  of  a  situation  in  a  school  at  Blue 
Lick  Springs,  Kentucky,  where  he  became  a  professor  in 
the  Western  Military  Institute,  a  flourishing  institution 
which  boasted  of  nearly  five  hundred  students. 

A  retired  officer  who  was  a  student  there  at  the  time, 

(66) 


ELAINE   AS  TEACHER,  EDITOR,  AND    CONGRESSMAN.        07 

says:  "  Professor  Elaine  was  a  thin,  handsome,  earnest 
young  man,  with  the  same  fascinating  manners  he  has 
now.  He  was  popular  with  the  boys,  who  trusted  him 
and  made  friends  with  him  from  the  first.  He  knew  the 
given  names  of  every  one,  and  he  knew  their  shortcom 
ings  and  their  strong  points.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
personal  courage,  and  during  a  fight  between  the  faculty 
of  the  school  and  the  owners  of  the  Springs,  involving 
some  questions  about  the  removal  of  the  school,  he  be 
haved  in  the  bravest  manner,  fighting  hard  but  keeping 
cool.  Revolvers  and  knives  were  freely  used,  after  the 
customs  which  then  prevailed  in  Kentucky,  but  Elaine 
only  used  his  well-disciplined  muscle. 

Colonel  Thornton  F.  Johnson  was  the  principal  of  the 
school,  and  his  wife  had  a  young  ladies'  school  at  Mil- 
lersburg,  twenty  miles  distant.  It  was  at  this  place  that 
Mr.  Elaine  met  Miss  Stan  wood,  who  belonged  to  an  excel 
lent  family  in  the  East,  and  afterwards  became  his  wife. 
"It  has  been  hinted  that  he  followed  the  custom  of  most 
college  youths  and  fell  in  love  before  his  graduation. 
It  is  also  hinted  that  the  match  was  broken  off  through 
the  opposition  of  the  young  lady's  family,  who  could  not 
forsee  the  future  prominence  of  the  student  who  was  yet 
in  his  teens. 

After  his  marriage,  Mr.  Elaine  left  Kentucky  and  went 
to  Philadelphia,  where  he  sought  an  engagement  as  a 
teacher  in  the  Pennsylvania  Institution  for  the  Instruc- 
4 


68       BLAINE   AS  TEACHER,  EDITOR,  AND   CONGRESSMAN. 

tion  of  the  Blind.  William  Chapin,  the  present  princi 
pal  of  that  establishment,  said  recently  : — 

"  I  remember  young  James  G.  Elaine  distinctly.  He 
was  principal  teacher  here  on  the  boys'  side  for  two 
years,  and  when  he  departed  he  left  behind  him  not  only 
universal  regret  at  a  serious  loss  to  the  institution,  but 
an  impression  of  his  personal  force  upon  the  work  and 
its  methods,  which  survives  the  lapse  of  thirty  years. 

"  He  rang  the  bell  one  Summer  afternoon  in  1852,  in 
answer  to  an  advertisement  for  a  teacher.  There  were 
thirty  or  forty  other  applicants,  but  his  manner  was  so 
winning  and  he  possessed  so  many  manifestly  valuable 
qualities  that  I  closed  an  engagement  with  him  at  once. 
He  was  married,  and  his  wife  and  little  son  Walker 
came  here  with  him.  His  qualities,  which  impressed  me 
most  deeply,  were  his  culture,  the  thoroughness  of  his 
education  and  his  unfailing  self-possession.  He  was  also 
a  man  of  very  decided  will,  and  was  very  much  disposed 
to  argument.  He  was  young  then — only  twenty-two — 
and  was  rather  impulsive,  leaping  to  a  conclusion  very 
quickly.  But  he  was  always  ready  to  defend  his  conclu 
sions,  however  suddenly  he  seemed  to  have  reached 
them.  We  had  many  a  familiar  discussion,  and  his 
arguments  always  astonished  me  by  the  knowledge  they 
displayed  of  facts  in  history  and  politics.  His  memory 
was  remarkable,  and  seemed  to  retain  details  which  ordi 
nary  men  would  forget. 


BLALNE   AS   TEACHER,  EDITOR,  AND    CONGRESSMAN.        69 


"  I  will  show  something  that  illustrates  how  thoroughly 
Mr.  Elaine  mastered  anything  he  took  hold  of,"  said 
Mr.  Chapin,  as  he  took  from  a  desk  in  the  corner  of  the 
room  a  thick  quarto  manuscript  book  bound  in  dark, 
brown  leather.  "  This  book  Mr.  Elaine  compiled  with 
great  labor  from  the  minute  books  of  the  Board  of  Man 
agers.  It  gives  a  historical  view  of  the  institution 
from  its  foundation  up  to  Mr.  Elaine's  departure.  He 
did  all  the  work  in  his  own  room,  telling  no  one  of  it 
until  he  left.  Then  he  presented  it,  through  me,  to  the 
Board  of  Managers,  who  were  both  surprised  and  grati 
fied.  I  believe  they  made  him  a  present  of  §100  as  a 
thank-offering  for  an  invaluable  work." 

"  This  book,"  says  one  who  saw  it  recently,  "  the  first 
historical  work  of  Mr.  Blaine,  is  a  model  of  its  kind. 
On  the  title  page,  in  ornamental  pen-work,  executed  at 
that  time  by  Mr.  Chapin,  is  the  inscription : 


JOURNAL 

or  THE 
PENNSYLVANIA  INSTITUTION 

FOB  THE 

INSTRUCTION  OP  THE  BLIND, 

FROM  ITS  FOUNDATION. 


COMPILED  FROM  OFFICIAL  RECORDS 

BY  JAMES  G.  BLAINE, 
1854. 


70       ELAINE   AS  TEACHER,  EDITOR,  AND   CONGRESSMAN. 

"  The  methodical  character  of  the  work  is  most 
remarkable.  On  the  first  page  every  abbreviation  used 
in  the  book  is  entered  alphabetically,  and  every  line  is  a 
model  of  neatness  and  accuracy.  On  every  page  is  a 
wide  margin.  At  the  top  of  the  margin  is  the  year,  in 
ornamental  figures.  Below  it  is  a  brief  statement  of 
what  the  text  contains  opposite  that  portion  of  the 
marginal  entry.  Every  year's  record  closes  with  an 
elaborate  table,  giving  the  attendance  of  members  of  the 
board.  The  last  pages  of  the  book  are  filled  with  alpha 
betical  lists  of  officers  of  the  institution  and  statistical 
tables.  One  of  the  lists  is  that  of  the  '  principal  teach 
ers.'  No.  13  is  followed  by  the  signature  '  Jas.  G. 
Elaine,  from  August  5, 1852,  to' — and  then,  in  another 
hand,  the  record  is  completed  with  the  date  November 
23, 1854. 

"  I  think  that  the  book,"  remarked  Mr.  Chapin, 
"  illustrates  the  character  of  the  man  in  accurate  mastery 
of  facts  and  orderly  presentation  of  details.  We  still 
use  it  for  reference,  and  Mr.  Frank  Battles,  the  assistant 
principal,  is  bringing  the  record  down  to  the  present 
time." 

While  engaged  in  the  work  of  teaching,  Mr.  Blaine 
began  the  study  of  law ;  he  fitted  himself  for  practice  at 
the  bar  in  Pennsylvania  but  never  applied  for  admission 
to  it.  His  wife  had  a  longing  for  her  old  home  in  Maine, 
and  in  obedience  to  her  wishes,  and  believing  that  it  was 


ELAINE  AS  TEACHER,  EDITOR,  AND  CONGRESSMAN.   71 

a  more  promising  field  than  Pennsylvania,  he  decided  to 
make  it  his  permanent  residence.  The  young  couple 
moved  to  Augusta  in  1854,  and  it  has  now  been  his  home 
for  more  than  thirty  years. 

In  the  same  year  lie  entered  into  partnership  with 
Joseph  Baker,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Augusta,  and  the 
two  purchased  the  Kennelec  Journal,  of  which  Mr. 
Elaine  at  once  became  editor.  The  Journal  was  a  weekly 
paper,  one  of  the  organs  of  the  Whig  party,  and  exer 
cised  considerable  influence.  In  185T  Mr.  Elaine  dis 
posed  of  his  interest  in  this  paper,  and  became  editor  of 
the  Portland  Daily  Advertiser.  In  the  campaign  of  1860 
he  returned  temporarily  to  his  old  post  on  the  Kennebee 
Journal  on  account  of  the  illness  of  its  editor. 

During  his  experience  of  six  years  in  journalism,  Mr. 
Elaine  displayed  marked  ability,  and  the  two  papers  with 
which  he  was  connected  were  not  only  regarded  as 
authorities  throughout  the  State  of  Maine,  but  extended 
their  influence  far  beyond  its  borders.  He  was  a  forcible 
writer  on  all  political  topics,  and  was  one  of  the  first  to 
foresee  the  dissolution  of  the  old  Whig  party,  and  the 
necessity  for  a  new  party  to  be  formed  out  of  the  consoli 
dated  opposition  to  the  encroachments  of  the  slave- 
holding  interest.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the  cam 
paign  of  1856  and  made  many  speeches  in  favor  of  the 
election  of  General  Fremont  to  the  Presidency. 

When   the   Whig   party  went  to   pieces   Mr.    Elaine 


72        ELAINE   AS  TEACHER,  EDITOR,  AND    CONGRESSMAN. 

joined  hands  with  Governor  Anson  P.  Merrill  in  organ 
izing  the  Republican  party  in  the  Pine  Tree  State.  His 
vigorous  attacks  upon  the  Buchanan  Administration 
made  him  a  power  in  the  new  organization.  In  1858, 
when  he  was  in  his  twenty-ninth  year,  he  was  elected  to 
the  Legislature.  He  served  two  years  on  the  floor  of 
the  Lower  House  and  two  years  in  the  chair,  where  he 
displayed  the  qualities  of  parliamentary  leadership  and 
control  that  afterward  gave  him  such  renown  in  the 
National  Legislature  at  Washington. 

The  excellence  of  his  services  in  the  State  Legislature 
recommended  him  for  a  place  in  Congress,  and  in  1862 
he  was  nominated  by  the  Republicans  of  the  Kennebec 
District.  The  campaign  was  an  energetic  one,  as  he  was 
opposed  by  one  of  the  most  popular  Democrats,  over 
whom  he  triumphed  by  a  majority  of  more  than  threje 
thousand  votes.  When  his  term  expired  he  was  re-elected 
by  a  still  greater  majority,  and  he  represented  the  dis 
trict  continuously  until  his  promotion  to  the  United 
States  Senate.  Altogether  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
Congress  seven  terms  by  the  following  majorities : 

1862,  .  .  3,422  1870,  .  .  2,320 

1864,  .  .  4,328  1872,  .  .  3,568 

1866,  .  .  6,591  1874,  .  .  2,830 

1868,  .  .  3,346 

During  the  first  term  of  his  long  career  as  Represent 
ative  he  had  for  colleagues  such  men  as  Elihu  B.  Wash- 


ELAINE  AS  TEACHER,  EDITOR,  AND  CONGRESSMAN.   73 

burne,  Owen  Lovejoy,  George  W.  Julian,  Godlove  S. 
Orth,  Schuyler  Coif  ax,  James  F.  Wilson,  William  B. 
Allison,  John  A.  Kasson,  Alexander  H.  Rice,  Henry  L. 
Dawes,  William  Windoin,  F.  P.  Blair,  jr.,  James  Brooks, 
Erastus  Corning,  Reuben  E.  Fenton,  Francis  Kernan, 
George  H.  Pendleton,  Robert  C.  Schenck,  James  A. 
Garfield,  Samuel  J.  Randall,  William  D.  Kelley,  Thad- 
deus  Stevens,  G.W.  Scofield,  and  many  other  distinguished 
men.  Among  these  he  soon  was  recognized  as  a  man 
whose  influence  was  sure  to  be  felt  and  to  increase  with 
time. 

His  first  election  to  Congress  was  during  the  stormy 
period  of  the  war,  and  he  had  plenty  of  work  before  him. 
He  speedily  acquired  a  reputation  as  a  most  industrious 
member  of  committees.  All  his  committee  work  was 
thoroughly  performed,  and  whenever  any  reports  were 
presented  he  was  ready  to  explain  them  in  the  minutest 
details.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Military  and  Post 
Office  Committees,  and  at  the  same  time  had  a  prominent 
place  on  the  Committees  on  Appropriations  and  Rules. 
He  did  not  neglect  the  other  committees  in  whose  work 
he  had  no  part,  and  it  was  frequently  remarked  that  he 
was  more  familiar  with  their  duties  than  some  of  the 
members  who  belonged  to  them. 

On  nearly  every  subject  that  came  before  Congress  ho 
had  something  to  say,  and  if  the  remarks  of  "  Blaine  of 
Maine  "  were  eliminated  from  the  report  of  the  debates 


74        ELAINE   AS   TEACHER,  EDITOR,  AND    CONGRESSMAN. 

of  the  closing  period  of  the  Rebellion,  and  the  following 
year,  they  would  be  suggestive  of  Hamlet  without  Ham 
let.  His  first  remarkable  speech  in  Congress  was  in 
relation  to  the  assumption  of  the  State  War  Debts  by 
the  General  Government.  He  took  the  position  that  the 
Government  was  abundantly  able  to  conduct  the  war  to 
a  successful  issue,  and  so  powerful  was  his  argument  and 
so  vigorously  presented,  that  it  was  printed  and  circu 
lated  as  a  campaign  document  in  the  Presidential  contest 
of  1864.  At  the  beginning  of  his  speech  on  that  occa 
sion  he  claimed  that  all  expenditure  made  in  good  faith 
by  the  loyal  States  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  the 
Union,  should  be  refunded  by  the  National  Government. 
"  If,"  said  he,  "  the  twenty-four  loyal  States  now  striving 
with  patriotic  rivalry  to  outdo  each  other  in  defending 
and  rescuing  the  nation  from  its  perils  were  hereafter  to 
constitute  the  entire  union,  there  might  be  nothing  gained 
and  nothing  lost  to  any  one  of  them  by  consolidating 
their  respective  war  debts  into  one  common  charge  upon 
the  aggregate  resources  of  the  Nation.  But  the  actual 
case  presented  for  consideration  is  far  different  from  this. 
We  are  engaged  in  a  struggle  which  must  inevitably 
result  in  restoring  to  loyalty  and  to  duty  eleven  States 
now  in  rebellion.  And  beyond  that,  as  a  consequence  of 
a  restored  Union,  and  of  the  boundless  prosperity  which 
awaits  the  auspicious  event,  our  vast  western  domain 
will  be  peopled  with  a  rapidity  exceeding  all  precedent, 


ELAINE   AS   TEACHER,  EDITOR,  AND   CONGRESSMAN.        75 

and  States  without  number  almost  will  spring  into  exist 
ence  to  add  to  the  strength  and  insure  the  perpetuity  of 
our  Government.  Were  it  not  for  the  blood  so  freely 
poured  out  and  the  treasure  so  lavishly  expended  by  the 
twenty-four  loyal  States  represented  on  this  floor,  the 
eleven  States  now  in  revolt  would  not  be  saved  from  self- 
destruction,  and  the  forty  States  so  speedily  to  grow  up 
in  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  on  the  Pacific  Slope  would 
never  come  into  existence.  Of  the  immense  National  debt 
which  we  are  incurring  in  this  struggle,  each  State  will 
of  course  have  to  bear  a  share  ;  but  it  is  quite  manifest 
that  for  two  generations  to  come,  owing  to  our  established 
system  of  taxation,  the  present  loyal  States  will  have  to 
endure  vastly  the  larger  proportion  of  the  total  burden. 
Is  it  fair  or  just  that  in  addition  to  this  they  shall  each 
be  called  upon  to  bear,  unaided,  a  large  local  debt,  nec 
essarily  and  ye.t  generously  incurred  in  aid  of  the  one 
common  object  of  preserving  the  life  of  the  whole 
nation  ?  Th<3  financial  issue  is  rather  between  the 
twenty-four  loyal  States  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  eleven 
revolted  States,  together  with  all  future  new  States,  on 
the  other.  We  have  it  in  our  power  to-day  to  determine 
the  matter  upon  principles  of  the  highest  equity,  and  at 
the  same  time  for  the  interest  of  the  loyal  States  who 
are  bearing  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  great  contest. 
From  such  data  as  I  have  been  able  to  collect,  I  esti 
mate  the  war  debts  of  the  loyal  States,  and  of  the  towns, 

4* 


76        ELAINE   AS   TEACHER,  EDITOR,  AND    CONGRESSMAN. 

cities,  and  counties  within  those  States,  as  amounting  at 
least  to  $150,000,000.  If  this  burden  is  to  remain  per 
manently  on  the  communities  now  sustaining  it  we  shall 
witness  the  anomalous  spectacle  of  less  than  one-third 
of  the  prospective  number  of  States  bearing  in  its  most 
oppressive  form  $150,000,000  of  debt,  every  dollar  of 
which  was  contracted  as  much  for  the  benefit  of  the 
other  two-thirds  of  the  Union  as  for  themselves. 

If  the  national  debt  is  increased  to  $150,000,000  by 
refunding  to  the  States,  the  local  burdens  are  correla- 
tively  and  proportionately  reduced.  Not  only  is  this  so, 
as  an  actual  fact,  but  it  is  so  in  its  impression  and  its 
influence  in  financial  circles.  You  will  find  that  the 
bankers  in  New  York  and  London  maintain  a  close  obser 
vation  upon  our  state  and  local  indebtedness,  and  thence 
measure  our  ability  to  carry  a  national  debt.  One  of  the 
earliest  and  one  of  the  gravest  questions  that  came  up  for 
adjustment  upon  the  organization  of  the  government,  was 
the  payment  from  the  common  purse  of  the  nation  of  all 
debts  contracted  by  the  States  in  their  great  struggle  to 
achieve  our  independence.  The  argument  in  favor  of  the 
policy  was  admirably  set  forth  by  Mr.  Hamilton,  and  in 
accordance  with  his  views  Congress  passed  an  act  to  pro 
vide  more  effectually  for  the  settlement  of  accounts  between 
the  United  States  and  the  individual  States.  The  second 
precedent  for  refunding  the  expenditures  made  by  the 
States  was  in  the  war  with  England  in  1812-15.  Every 


ELAINE   AS   TEACHER,  EDITOR,  AND    CONGRESSMAN.        77 

dollar  was  repaid,  on  the  most  liberal  principles,  the  only 
limit  or  qualification  being  that  the  money,  whose  restitu 
tion  was  claimed,  "  had  been  actually  expended  for  the 
use  and  benefit  of  the  United  States  during  the  late  war 
with  Great  Britain."  The  refunding  to  the  States  for 
expenses  incurred  during  the  war  with  Mexico,  was  upon  t 
a  basis  so  comprehensive  and  broad  as  to  be  almost  liable 
to  the  charge  of  looseness  and  prodigality.  The  refund 
ing  policy  which  I  have  proposed  neither  adds  to  nor  sub 
tracts  from  the  debt  of  the  loyal  people  who  are  now 
struggling  for  the  Union  and  for  nationality. 

Our  material  progress  comprehends  the  entire  circle  of 
human  enterprise,  —  agriculture,  commerce,  .manufac 
tures,  mining.  They  assure  to  us  a  growth  in  property 
and  population  that  will  surpass  the  most  sanguine  de 
ductions  of  our  census  tables,  framed  as  those  tables  are 
upon  the  ratios  and  relations  of  our  progress  in  the  past. 
They  give  into  our  hands,  under  the  blessings  of  Al 
mighty  God,  the  power  to  command  our  fate  as  a  nation. 
They  hold  out  to  us  the  grandest  future  reserved  for  any 
people  ;  and  with  this  promise  they  teach  us  the  lesson  of 
patience,  and  make  confidence  and  fortitude  a  duty. 
With  such  amplitude  and  affluence  of  resources,  and  with 
such  a  vast  stake  at  issue,  we  should  be  unworthy  of  our 
lineage  and  our  inheritance  if  we  for  one  moment  dis 
trusted  our  ability  to  maintain  ourselves  a  united  people 
with  "  one  country  one  Constitution,  one  destiny." 


78   ELAINE  AS  TEACHER,  EDITOR,  AND  CONGRESSMAN. 

In  January,  1868,  Mr.  Elaine  introduced  a  resolution 
in  relation  to  Congressional  representation,  which  was 
referred  to  the  Reconstruction  Committee,  and  was  sub 
sequently  made  the  basis  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment. 
In  December,  1867,  he  made  an  elaborate  speech  on  the 
finances,  in  which  he  analysed  Mr.  Pendleton's  greenback 
theory.     u  The  remedy  for  our  financial  troubles,"  said 
he,  "  will  not  be  found  in  a  superabundance  of  depreci 
ated  paper  currency.     It  lies  in  the  opposite  direction,  and 
the  sooner  the  nation  finds  itself  on  a  specie  basis  the 
sooner  will  the  public  treasury  be  freed  from  embarrass 
ment,  and  private  business  be  relieved  from  discourage 
ment.      Instead,  therefore,  of  entering  upon  a  reckless 
and  boundless  issue  of  legal  tenders,  with  their  constant 
depreciation,  if  not  destruction,  of  value,  let  us  set  reso 
lutely  to  work  and  make  those   already  in  circulation 
equal  to  so  many  gold  dollars." 

At  the  opening  of  the  first  session  of  the  XLIst  Con 
gress  the  Republican  caucus  nominated  Mr.  Elaine  for 
Speaker  by  acclamation,  and  he  was  elected  by  a  vote  of 
136  to  57  for  Mr.  Kerr.  He  was  re-elected,  without  op 
position  in  his  own  party,  Speaker  of  the  XLIId  and 
XLlIId  Congresses.  In  that  position  his  quickness  of 
perception,  decision  of  manner,  thorough  knowledge  of 
parliamentary  law  and  usages,  and  impartial  and  judi 
cial  mind,  added  to  his  clear  voice  and  impressive  pre 
sence,  made  him  a  most  admirable  presiding  officer. 


ELAINE   AS   TEACHER,  EDITOR,  AND   CONGRESSMAN.        79 

The  Democratic  party  had  a  majority  in  the  House  in 
1874,  and  one  of  the  inevitable  consequences  of  that 
state  of  affairs  was  the  election  of  a  Democratic  Speaker. 
Mr.  Elaine  returned  to  the  floor  of  the  House,  where  his 
voice  was  heard  with  great  effect  in  many  a  debate.  He 
had  something  to  say  on  nearly  every  question  that  came 
up  for  discussion,  and  his  utterances  were  always  positive 
and  energetic.  Among  all  the  able  disputants  on  the 
other  side  there  was  none  who  could  equal  him  in  adroit 
ness  and  parliamentary  skill.  He  was  always  ready  to 
meet  his  adversaries,  never  lost  his  self-possession  for  a 
moment  even  under  great  provocation,  and  throughout 
his  whole  career  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  he  was  second  to  none  as  a  leader  of  the  Republi 
can  party. 


CHAPTER    V. 


ELAINE  IN  THE  SENATE. 

Senator  Merrill's  Resignation. — Elaine  Appointed  to  Vacancy. 
—Afterward  Elected  to  Unexpired  and  Full  Terms. — His  Farewell 
Address  to  His  Constituents,— Elaine's  Action  in  the  Senate  on 
Important  Measures.— Electoral  Commission  Bill.— The  Bland  Silver 
Bill. — Speech  on  Finances. — Effects  of  Inferior  Standard  Dollar. — 
A  Dollar  for  the  Chinese  Colony  and  the  Indian  Pariah. — Restora 
tion  of  American  Shipping.— Speech  Before  New  York  Chamber 
of  Commerce. — Efforts  to  Revive  American  Commerce. — A  Startling 
Array  of  Figures. — Conflicting  Opinions  — The  Carrying  Trade 
Gone  to  Other  Countries. — False  Trademarks. — The  Business  Stand 
of  the  World. 

In  1876  Senator  Morrill  of  Maine  resigned  his 
position  in  order  to  become  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
On  the  10th  of  July,  of  that  year,  the  Governor 
appointed  Mr.  Elaine  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by 
Senator  Merrill's  retirement.  At  the  next  meeting  of 
the  Legislature  he  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  for 
the  unexpired  term,  and  afterwards  for  the  ensuing  term 
until  May,  1883. 

Soon  after  receiving  his  appointment  as  Senator  he 

wrote  an  address  to  his  constituents  in  his  congressional 

(80) 


ELAINE   IN   THE   SENATE.  81 

district,  thanking  them  for  their  support  and  expressing 
the  assurance  that  they  would  never  be  forgotten.  In 
the  course  of  this  address  he  said: 

"Beginning  with  1862  you  have,  by  continuous  elec 
tions,  sent  me  as  your  representative  to  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States.  For  such  marked  confidence  I  have 
endeavored  to  return  the  most  zealous  and  devoted 
service  in  my  power,  and  it  is  certainly  not  without  a 
feeling  of  pain  that  I  now  surrender  a  trust  by  which  I 
have  always  felt  so  signally  honored.  It  has  been  my 
boast  in  public  and  in  private  that  no  man  on  the  floor 
of  Congress  ever  represented  a  constituency  more  dis 
tinguished  for  intelligence,  for  patriotism,  for  public  and 
personal  virtue.  The  cordial  support  you  have  so 
uniformly  given  me  through  these  fourteen  eventful 
years  is  the  chief  honor  of  my  life.  In  closing  the 
intimate  relations  I  have  so  long  held  with  the  people 
of  this  district  it  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  me  to  know 
that  with  returning  health  I  shall  enter  upon  a  field  of 
duty  in  which  1  can  still  serve  them  in  common  with  the 
larger  constituency  of  which  they  form  a  part." 

His  appointment  to  the  Senate  was  enthusiastically 
received  throughout  the  State,  and  from  one  end  of  Maine 
to  the  other  the  Governor's  action  was  unanimously 
approved.  The  following,  from  the  Kennebec  Journal, 
may  be  taken  as  an  indication  of  the  popular  sentiment 
on  the  subject: 


82  ELAINE   IN    THE  SENATE. 

"Fourteen  years  ago,  standing  in  the  convention  at 
which  he  was  first  nominated,  Mr.  Elaine  pledged  himself 
to  use  his  best  services  for  the  district,  and  to  support 
to  the  best  of  his  ability  the  policy  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
to  subdue  the  Rebellion,  and  then  and  there  expressed 
plainly  the  idea  that  slavery  must  and  ought  to  be 
abolished  to  save  the  Union.  That  he  has  kept  his 
pledge  faithfully  his  constituents  know  and  feel,  and  the 
records  of  Congress  attest.  To  this  district  his  abilities 
were  freely  given,  and  as  he  rose  in  honor  in  the  House 
and  in  the  public  estimation  he  reflected  honor  and  gave 
strength  to  the  constituency  that  supported  him.  Every 
step  he  made  in  advance  was  a  gain  for  them.  It  was 
a  grand  thing  for  this  district  to  have  as  its  Representa 
tive  in  Congress  for  six  years  the  Speaker  of  the  House, 
filling  the  place  next  in  importance  to  that  of  President 
of  the  United  States,  with  matchless  ability.  It  was  a 
grander  thing  when  he  took  the  lead  of  the  minority 
in  the  House  last  December,  routed  the  Democratic 
majority,  and  drove  back  in  dismay  the  ex-Confederates 
who  were  intending  and  expecting,  through  the  advant 
age  they  had  already  gained,  to  grasp  the  supreme  power 
in  the  nation  and  wield  it  in  the  interest  of  the  cause 
of  secession  and  rebellion  revived.  For  what  he  has 
done  as  their  representative  in  Congress  never  will  this 
Third  District  of  Maine  forget  to  honor  the  name  of 
James  G.  Elaine.  It  will  live  in  the  hearts  of  this 


ELAINE   IN   THE   SENATE.  83 

people  even  as  the  name  of  Henry  Clay  is  still  loved  by 
the  people  of  his  old  district  in  Kentucky." 

For  many  years  it  had  been  the  custom  in  the  Senate 
for  the  new  members  to  practice  the  virtue  of  silence 
and  allow  the  older  ones  a  monopoly  of  the  speeches. 
This  tradition  was  by  no  means  welcome  to  a  man  of 
Mr.  Elaine's  temperament  and  he  was  not  long  in  break 
ing  through  it.  On  every  question  of  importance  he 
had  something  to  say  and  always  with  emphasis.  He 
made  a  strong  speech  in  favor  of  restricting  Chinese 
immigration,  which  received  both  praise  and  abuse 
accordingly  as  the  subject  was  considered  by  those  who 
commented  upon  it. 

Mr.  Elaine  voted  against  the  Electoral  Commission 
Bill,  by  which  the  election  of  1876  was  given  to  Hayes, 
and  presented  some  very  positive  reasons  for  his  action. 
He  opposed  the  Bland  Silver  Bill  in  a  speech  of  great 
force  and  favored  the  coinage  of  an  honest  dollar  of 
silver.  Many  men  who  opposed  his  views  at  the  time 
have  since  arrived  at  his  way  of  thinking,  and  regard 
the  Bland  Silver  Bill  as  he  did  when  it  was  under  dis 
cussion  and  about  to  become  a  law. 

On  the  question  of  bimetallic  or  monometallic  stand 
ard,  Mr.  Blaine  said :  "  I  believe  the  struggle  now  going 
on  for  a  single  gold  standard,  would,  if  successful,  pro 
duce  wide-spread  disasters  in  the  end  throughout  the 
commercial  world.  The  destruction  of  silver  as  money 


84  ELAINE  IN   THE  SENATE. 

and  establishing  gold  as  the  sole  unit  of  value  must 
have  a  ruinous  effect  on  all  forms  of  property,  except 
those  investments  which  yield  a  fixed  return  in  money. 
These  would  be  enormously  enhanced  in  value,  and 
would  gain  a  disproportionate  and  unfair  advantage  over 
every  other  species  of  property.  I  believe  the  public 
creditor  can  afford  to  be  paid  in  any  silver  dollar  that 
the  United  States  can  afford  to  coin  and  circulate.  We 
have  forty  thousand  millions  of  property  in  this  country, 
and  a  wise  self-interest  will  not  permit  us  to  overturn  its 
relations  by  seeking  for  an  inferior  dollar  wherewith  to 
settle  the  dues  and  demands  of  any  creditor. 

"The  interest  of  the  public  creditor  is  indissolubly 
bound  up  with  the  interests  of  the  whole  people.  What 
ever  affects  him  affects  us ;  and  the  evil  that  we  might 
inflict  upon  him  by  paying  an  inferior  dollar  would 
recoil  upon  us  with  a  vengeance  as  manifold  as  the 
aggregate  wealth  of  the  Republic  transcends  the  com 
paratively  small  limits  of  our  bonded  debt.  If  paid  in 
a  good  silver  dollar,  the  bondholder  has  nothing  to  com 
plain  of.  If  paid  in  an  inferior  silver  dollar,  he  has  the 
same  grievance  that  will  be  uttered  still  more  plaintively 
by  the  holder  of  the  legal-tender  note  and  of  the  national 
bank  bill,  by  the  pensioner,  by  the  day  laborer,  and  by 
the  countless  hosts  of  the  poor,  whom  we  have  with  us 
always,  and  on  whom  the  most  distressing  effect  of 
inferior  money  will  be  ultimately  precipitated. 


ELAINE   IN    THE   SENATE.  85 

"  Ever  since  we  demonetized  the  old  dollar  we  have 
been  running  our  mints  at  full  speed,  coining  a  new 
silver  dollar  for  the  use  of  the  Chinese  cooly  and  the 
Indian  pariah — a  dollar  containing  420  grains  of  stand 
ard  silver,  with  its  superiority  over  our  ancient  dollar 
ostentatiously  engraved  on  its  reverse  side.  To  these 
outside  barbarians  we  send  this  superior  dollar,  bearing 
all  our  national  emblems,  our  patriotic  devices,  our  pious 
inscriptions,  our  goddess  of  liberty,  our  defiant  eagle, 
our  federal  unity,  our  trust  in  God." 

Both  in  Congress  and  out  of  it  Mr.  Elaine  has  devoted 
much  attention  to  the  subject  of  the  restoration  of  Amer 
ican  commerce  to  the  position  it  held  before  the  Civil 
War,  and  the  destruction  of  our  shipping  by  Confederate 
cruisers  of  English  construction,  and  fitted  and  manned 
in  English  ports.  He  has  written  many  letters  and 
made  many  speeches  on  the  subject,  all  of  them  charac 
terized  by  the  minuteness  of  details  for  which  he  is 
famous.  Coming  from  a  ship-building  state  his  attention 
was  drawn  to  the  matter  at  the  very  beginning  of  his 
political  career  and  he  has  constantly  kept  himself 
thoroughly  informed  concerning  all  its  features. 

One  of  his  most  famous  speeches  on  this  subject  was 
made  at  a  dinner  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  New 
York  in  1880.  It  was  regarded  as  a  masterly  presenta 
tion  of  the  claims  of  American  Commerce  upon  Ameri 
can  Merchants  and  the  means  required  for  its  restoration. 


86  ELAINE   IN    THE   SENATE. 

In  the  course  of  his  speech  on  that  occasion  Mr. 
Elaine  said : 

"In  reading  the  toast  to  which  I  am  to  respond,  I 
really  do  not  know  exactly  at  what  it  is  aimed.  If  it  is 
aimed  at  me,  it  is  to  congratulate  me  on  failure,  and  not 
on  success.  If  it  be  a  confession  on  the  part  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  that  this  is  their  creed,  then  it  is 
the  beginning  of  the  end  of  the  victory  to  come ;  because, 
if  I  speak  the  voice  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the 
State  of  New  York  in  that  toast,  I  know  that  I  speak 
with  a  voice  far  mightier  than  any  that  has  been  raised 
in  Congress ;  and  I  have  it  to  declare,  that  if  it  be  the 
will  of  that  chamber  and  of  the  people  to  initiate  a  pol 
icy  for  the  revival  of  American  commerce,  then  it  is 
done. 

"  But  you  will  permit  me  to  say,  speaking  as  an  out 
sider,  to  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  coming  as  I  do 
from  a  commercial  State,  that  commerce  needs  a  revival 
in  this  country.  Every  other  interest  in  this  country  for 
the  last  fifteen  years,  even  including  the  years  1866-67, 
a  year  of  doubt  and  depression,  has  been  gathering 
strength,  and  is  ready  to  march  forward  to  victory,  save 
only  the  commerce  of  the  Nation.  Now  I  suppose,  that 
figures  are  familiar  to  you,  gentlemen,  but  the  figures  of 
American  commerce  in  its  decline  are  startling.  Twenty 
years  ago,  of  the  tonnage  engaged  in  the  foreign  trade  of 
the  United  States,  fully  three-fourths  was  American. 


ELAINE    IN   THE   SENATE.  87 

Of  the  tonnage  engaged  in  the  foreign  trade  of  the  United 
States  to-day,  not  one-fourth  is  American.  In  1856-57, 
Great  Britain,  the  leading  Commercial  Nation  of  the 
world,  had  only  950,000  tons  engaged  in  the  trade 
between  the  United  States  and  that  kingdom.  She  has 
5,200,000  tons  now.  Qermany  then  had  but  166,000 
tons ;  this  last  year  she  had  950,000  tons.  Norway  and 
Sweden,  twenty  years  ago,  had  in  trade  between  this 
country  and  their  own  but  20,000  tons  ;  last  year's  reports 
show  that  they  had  850,000  tons.  Even  Austria,  penned 
up  with  a  limited  seaboard  as  she  is,  had  in  commerce 
with  us,  twenty  years  ago,  not  a  vessel  of  her  own ;  but 
last  year  she  had  no  less  than  220,000  tons.  And  I 
might  go  on  thus  through  the  whole  list. 

In  this  mighty  increase  of  commerce  from  4,400,000 
to  over  11,000.000  tons,  the  United  States  has  gone  back 
ward,  and  all  the  vast  profit  of  this  trade  has  gone  into 
the  coffers  of  other  nations.  Let  me  ask  of  you  here, 
what  other  interests  have  gone  backward  in  that  period  ? 
Have  manufactures  ?  They  have  outstripped  emigration. 
Has  agriculture  ?  Why,  it  has  gone  ahead  of  every  pos 
sible  calculation.  Has  internal  commerce  ?  Why,  we 
have  increased  from  30,000  to  68,000  miles  of  railroads, 
and  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  besides  giv 
ing  sixty  millions  in  money,  has  given  to  internal  com 
merce  over  200,000,000  acres  of  the  public  domain- 
more  than  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pensylvania,  Ohio, 


88  BLAINE   IN    THE   SENATE. 

and  Maryland  combined.  And  meantime  she  lias  pro 
tected  by  tariff  every  article  that  the  American  artisan 
and  the  American  capitalist  would  invest  in  the  manufac 
ture  of.  But  for  the  foreign  commerce  of  this  country, 
what  has  she  done  ?  Left  it  to  the  alien  and  the  stran 
ger  ;  and  in  the  last  ten  years,  the  value  of  the  products 
carried  between  this  country  and  foreign  countries  has 
exceeded  111,000,000,000,  out  of  the  carrying  of  which, 
somebody  has  made  1110,000,000  per  annum — a  sum  far 
larger  than  the  interest  of  the  public  debt.  And  who  has 
made  this  money  ?  France,  England,  Germany.  Every 
body  excepting  the  United  States.  Think  of  it !  $110,- 
000,000  in  gold  coin  has  gone  out  of  the  commerce  of 
this  country  into  the  commerce  of  other  countries.  Can 
New  York  stand  this  ?  Can  this  great  port  sustain  such 
loss  as  this,  with  all  her  unbounded  advantages  of  posi 
tion  and  resources,  and  with  the  magnificent  continental 
commerce  that  stands  behind  her  ?  I  say,  gentlemen, 
that  if  the  carrying  trade  of  this  country,  aggregating 
$110,000,000,  is  permanently  turned  from  us,  then  the 
question  of  specie  payment  becomes  one  of  far  more 
complicated  difficulty  than  it  is  to-day. 

"  To-day  you  can  put  a  barrel  of  flour  or  a  bushel  of 
wheat  from  Chicago  into  Liverpool  at  a  cheaper  rate 
than  you  could  bring  it,  ten  years  ago,  from  Buffalo  to 
New  York.  With  the  cheap  rates  for  freights,  there- 


ELAINE   IN   THE   SENATE.  89 

fore,  the  great  landed  estates  of  England  that  are 
rented  at  <£2  to  <£2  10s.  per  acre,  cannot  pretend  to  com 
pete  with  products  that  are  raised  on  lands  the  fee 
simple  of  which  is  not  half  as  much  as  the  annual 
rental  of  the  English  lands.  In  view  of  these  facts,  I 
say  we  are  destined  to  feed  the  world,  because  we  can 
do  it  cheaper  than  anybody  else  can  do  it.  Why,  the 
tonnage  from  New  York  to  Buffalo  was  $85  a  ton  the 
year  before  the  Erie  Canal  was  opened,  but  it  fell  to 
$9  a  ton  a  year  afterward.  That  was  considered  a 
marvel.  And  yet,  that  is  more  than  it  is  to-day  from 
the  far  Northwest,  from  Minneapolis  to  the  principal 
ports  of  Europe. 

"  There  is  nothing  that  we  have  not  done  in  this  country 
to  encourage  railroad  building.  Why,  it  is  one  continu 
ous  route  from  Chicago  to  Liverpool ;  but  we  take  one 
thousand  miles  and  give  three  thousand  miles  to  the 
foreigner,  and  that  is  the  way  we  are  dividing  our 
carrying  trade.  Why  should  we  not  carry  it  across  the 
sea,  and  if  they  can  make  profit  in  doing  it,  so  can  we. 
If  New  York  will  throw  her  heart  into  this  matter,  the 
rest  will  follow,  and  then  we  will  have  the  commercial, 
manufacturing,  and  agricultural  interests  of  our  country 
going  forward,  hand  in  hand,  as  they  should  go,  mutually 
supporting  each  other.  I  know  there  is  a  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  the  means  by  which  this  is  to  be  accom 
plished. 


90  ELAINE   IN   THE   SENATE. 

"  One  man  says,  i  tear  down  your  navigation  laws,  and 
let  us  have  free  ships.'  Now,  I  am  opposed  to  that, 
because  that  does  not  tend  to  build  up  American  com 
merce.  I  don't  believe  in  false  trade-marks.  I  don't 
believe  that  buying  a  British  ship,  and  calling  her  an 
American  ship,  makes  her  an  American  ship.  I  believe 
that  this  very  day  and  hour  every  single  article  that 
goes  into  the  manufacture  of  a  ship,  can  be  produced 
and  made  as  well  here  as  in  any  spot  on  this  earth. 
Just  so  long  as  this  country  fails  to  become,  or  delays 
its  arrival  at  the  position  of  a  great  and  triumphal  com 
mercial  nation,  just  so  long  it  is  defeating  the  ends  of 
Providence.  We  have  17,000  miles  of  our  coast  line 
looking  toward  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa,  giving  us  a 
larger  sea  frontage  than  all  Europe,  beginning  at  Arch 
angel  and  running  to  the  pillars  of  Hercules,  and  beyond 
them  to  the  gates  of  Trebizond.  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson 
has  said  that  England  was  great  because  she  had  the 
best  business  stand  on  the  globe.  That  was,  perhaps, 
once  true.  But  it  is  true  no  longer.  To-day  the  best 
business  stand  is  changed,  and  it  is  to  be  found  in  the 
United  States,  and  your  great  imperial  city,  with  its 
matchless  commercial  connections  and  position,  and  its 
magnificent  harbor,  is  destined  to  be,  under  the  enter- 
prize  and  guidance  of  its  merchants,  what  London  has 
dreamed  of,  but  never  yet  has  realized.'' 


CHAPTER    VI. 


ELAINE  IN  DIPLOMACY. 

General  Garfield  asks  for  an  Interview  with  Mr.  Elaine  soon  after 
the  Election  of  1880. — Offers  of  the  Portfolio  of  Secretary  of  State. 
— His  Great  Surprise. — His  Hesitation  and  Acceptance. — His  Letter 
to  Garfield.— His  Great  Friendship  for  Garfield.— Elaine's  Diplo 
matic  Career. — Efforts  for  Peace  in  South  America. — Proposed  Con 
gress  of  American  Nations. — What  it  was  Expected  to  Accomplish. 
— An  Important  and  Impressive  Step. — Applying  Christian  Princi 
ples  to  the  Affairs  of  Nations. — The  Monroe  Doctrine. — The  Pana 
ma  Canal. — English  Hostility  to  Elaine,  and  its  Cause. 

The  election  of  1880,  determined  that  General  Gar- 
field  would  be  inaugurated  President  of  the  United 
States  on  the  fourth  of  March  of  the  following  year. 
A  short  time  after 'the  election,  General  Garfield  wrote 
to  Mr.  Blaine,  asking  for  a  meeting  in  Washington  about 
November  24th.  The  invitation  was  accepted,  and  the 
two  gentlemen  met  at  Garfi eld's  residence  in  the  na 
tional  Capital,  on  the  afternoon  of  November  26th.  They 
were  closely  closeted  for  two  hours,  and  during  the 
interview  General  Garfield  tendered  to  Mr.  Blaine  the 

5  (91) 


92  ELAINE  IN   DIPLOMACY. 

portfolio  of  Secretary  of  State,  without  making  any 
reservation  whatever  concerning  it. 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Elaine  had  recovered  from  his  sur 
prise,  he  asked  for  time  to  consider  the  offer.  General 
Garfield  urged  him  to  accept  at  once,  but  Mr.  Elaine 
declined,  and  said  the  matter  was  too  important  to  be 
disposed  of  in  a  moment. 

On  the  following  day,  Mr.  Elaine  communicated  the 
fact  of  the  offer  to  some  of  his  confidential  friends,  and 
told  them  he  was  inclined  to  accept  it  provided  the 
selection  was  approved  by  the  sentiment  of  the  country. 
His  friends  urged  him  to  accept,  as  they  felt  confident 
that  the  voice  of  the  press  and  public  would  endorse  the 
choice  of  the  President-elect. 

In  the  early  part  of  December  it  was  positively  an 
nounced  in  newspapers  friendly  to  the  incoming  admin 
istration  that  General  Garfield  had  invited  Senator 
Elaine  to  become  Secretary  of  State  in  the  incoming 
cabinet.  Of  course  the  selection  was  opposed  in  some 
quarters,  though  it  met  with  general  approval  through 
out  the  country.  When  this  fact  became  known  to  Mr. 
Elaine,  he  wrote  the  following  letter  of  acceptance : — 

"  WASHINGTON,  Dec.  20, 1880. 

"  MY  DEAR  GARFIELD  :  Your  generous  invitation  to 
enter  your  cabinet  as  Secretary  of  State  has  been  under 
consideration  for  more  than  three  weeks.  The  thought 


ELAINE   IN    DIPLOMACY.  93 

had  really  never  occurred  to  my  mind  until  at  our  late 
conference  you  presented  it  with  such  cogent  arguments 
in  its  favor,  and  with  such  warmth  of  personal  friendship 
in  aid  of  your  kind  offer. 

"  I  know  that  an  early  answer  is  desirable,  and  I  have 
waited  only  long  enough  to  consider  the  subject  in  all  its 
bearings,  and  to  make  up  my  mind,  definitely  and  con 
clusively.  I  now  say  to  you,  in  the  same  cordial  spirit 
in  which  you  have  invited  me,  that  I  accept  the  position. 

"  It  is  no  affectation  for  me  to  add  that  I  make  this 
decision,  not  for  the  honor  of  the  promotion  it  gives  me 
in  the  public  service,  but  because  I  think  I  can  be  useful 
to  the  country  and  to  the  party ;  useful  to  you  as  the 
responsible  leader  of  the  party  and  the  great  head  of  the 
government. 

"  I  am  influenced  somewhat,  perhaps,  by  the  shower 
of  letters  I  have  received  urging  me  to  accept,  written  to 
me  in  consequence  of  the  mere  unauthorized  newspaper 
report  that  you  had  been  pleased  to  offer  me  the  place. 
While  I  have  received  these  letters  from  all  sections  of 
the  Union,  I  have  been  especially  pleased  and  even  sur 
prised  at  the  cordial  and  widely-extended  feeling  in  my 
favor  throughout  New  England,  where  I  had  expected  to 
encounter  local  jealousy  and  perhaps  rival  aspiration. 

"  In  our  new  relation  I  shall  give  all  that  I  am  and  all 
that  I  can  hope  to  be,  freely  and  joyfully,  to  your  ser 
vice.  You  need  no  pledge  of  my  loyalty  in  heart  and  in 


94  ELAINE  IN   DIPLOMACY. 

act.  I  should  be  false  to  myself  did  I  not  prove  true 
both  to  the  great  trust  you  confide  to  me  and  to  your 
own  personal  and  political  fortunes  in  the  present  and  in 
the  future.  Your  administration  must  be  made  bril 
liantly  successful  and  strong  in  the  confidence  and  pride 
of  the  people,  not  at  all  directing  its  energies  for  reelec 
tion,  and  yet  compelling  that  result  by  the  logic  of  events, 
and  by  the  imperious  necessities  of  the  situation. 

"  To  that  most  desirable  consummation  I  feel  that, 
next  to  yourself,  I  can  possibly  contribute  as  much  influ 
ence  as  any  other  one  man.  I  say  this  not  from  egotism 
or  vain-glory,  but  merely  as  a  deduction  from  a  plain 
analysis  of  the  political  forces  which  have  been  at  work 
in  the  country  for  five  years  past,  and  which  have  been 
significantly  shown  in  two  great  national  conventions. 
I  accept  it  as  one  of  the  happiest  circumstances  connected 
with  this  affair  that  in  allying  my  political  fortunes  with 
yours — or  rather  for  the  time  merging  mine  in  yours — 
my  heart  goes  with  my  head,  and  that  I  carry  to  you 
not  only  political  support  but  personal  and  devoted  friend 
ship.  I  can  but  regard  it  as  somewhat  remarkable  that 
two  men  of  the  same  age,  entering  Congress  at  the  same 
time,  influenced  by  the  same  aims  and  cherishing  the 
same  ambitions,  should  never,  for  a  single  moment  in 
eighteen  years  of  close  intimacy,  have  had  a  misunder 
standing  or  a  coolness,  and  that  our  friendship  has 
steadily  grown  with  our  growth  and  strengthened  with 
our  strength. 


BLAINE   IN   DIPLOMACY.  95 

"  It  is  this  fact  which  has  led  me  to  the  conclusion 
embodied  in  this  letter  ;  for  however  much,  my  dear  Gar- 
field,  I  might  admire  you  as  a  statesman,  I  would  not 
enter  your  cabinet  if  I  did  not  believe  in  you  as  a  man 
and  love  you  as  a  friend.  Always  faithfully  yours. 

"JAMES  G.  BLAINE." 

Mr.  Elaine's  diplomatic  career  covers  a  period  of  nine 
months,  terminating  with  his  resignation  December 
19,  1881.  On  assuming  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State 
on  the  accession  of  President  Garfield,  he  declared  that 
his  policy  would  he  to  bring  about  peace  and  prevent 
future  wars  in  North  and  South  America,  and  to  culti 
vate  such  friendly  relations  with  all  American  countries 
as  would  lead  to  a  large  increase  in  the  seaport  trade  of 
the  United  States.  The  right  and  duty  of  the  United 
States  to  assert  and  maintain  such  supervision  and 
authority  over  any  inter-oceanic  canal  across  the  isthmus 
that  connects  North  and  South  America  as  would  pro 
tect  our  national  interests  had  been  asserted  by  Presi 
dent  Garfield  in  his  inaugural  address.  Congress  had 
approved  the  proposed  policy,  and  Mr.  Elaine  determined 
that  he  would  support  it.  At  his  suggestion  the  Euro 
pean  governments  were  advised  of  the  exclusive  rights 
that  this  government  had  secured  with  the  country  which 
the  proposed  waterway  would  traverse,  and  the  powers 
were  notified  that  any  foreign  guarantee  of  neutrality 


96  ELAINE   IN   DIPLOMACY. 

would  be  an  unfriendly  act,  as  well  as  totally  unnecessary. 
According  to  the  terms  of  the  Clayton-Bulwer  treaty  of 
1850,  the  United  States  had  entered  into  a  special  agree 
ment  with  Great  Britain  on  this  subject;  Mr.  Elaine 
made  a  formal  proposal  to  the  powers  for  the  abrogation 
of  all  provisions  of  that  convention  which  were  not  in 
accord  with  the  guarantees  and  privileges  convenanted 
for  in  the  compact  with  the  Colombian  Republic,  the 
latter  having  shortly  before  proposed  to  the  European 
powers  to  join  in  a  guarantee  of  the  neutrality  of  the 
proposed  Panama  canal. 

The  papers  in  reference  to  this  case  were  amongst  the 
most  elaborate  of  all  receiving  his  signature  as  Secretary 
of  State  during  his  nine  months  of  office.  Mr.  Elaine 
claimed  that  according  to  the  terms  of  the  Clayton-Bul 
wer  treaty,  the  right  was  conceded  to  Great  Britain  to 
control  any  canal  which  might  be  built  across  the  isthmus, 
as  that  power,  owing  to  its  insular  position  and  colonial 
possessions,  was  compelled  to  maintain  a  naval  establish 
ment  with  which  the  United  States  would  not  compete. 
"  The  treaty,"  wrote  Mr.  Elaine,  "  commands  this  gov 
ernment  not  to  use  a  single  regiment  of  troops  to  pro 
tect  its  interests  in  connection  with  the  inter-oceanic 
canal,  but  to  surrender  the  transit  to  the  guardianship 
and  control  of  the  British  navy."  Mr.  Elaine's  argu 
ment  was  considered  unanswerable. 

The  war  between  Chili  and  Peru,  which  was  brought 


ELAINE   IN    DIPLOMACY.  97 

to  a  close  in  January,  1881,  by  the  occupation  of  the 
Peruvian  Capital  by  the  victorious  Chilians,  also  claimed 
Mr.  Elaine's  attention,  and  efforts  were  made  on  his  part 
to  bring  about  a  treaty  of  peace  between  the  two  coun 
tries.  With  this  end  in  view  Mr.  Elaine  sent  his  son, 
Walker  Elaine,  and  Mr.  Trescott  as  special  envoys  to 
confer  with  Pierola,  the  President  of  Peru,  who  had  fled 
some  distance  from  Lima,  Calderon,  the  provisional  resi 
dent  at  Lima,  and  the  Government  of  Chili.  The  result 
of  their  mission  was  watched  with  much  interest,  and  it 
was  hoped  that  Mr.  Elaine's  endeavors  in  the  interest  of 
peace  would  bear  good  results.  Before  negotiations 
could  be  entered  upon  by  the  envoys  Mr.  Elaine  had 
resigned  the  portfolio  of  the  State  Department,  and  his 
successor  countermanded  the  instructions  he  (Elaine) 
had  given.  Mr.  Elaine's  step  was  a  bold,  strong,  and 
pacific  one.  Its  reversal  led  to  a  period  of  no-policy  by 
which  means  Chili  was  allowed  to  dictate  most  exacting 
terms  with  Peru. 

Mr.  Elaine's  proposition  for  a  Peace  Congress  com 
posed  of  the  Governments  of  North  and  South  America 
was,  perhaps,  the  most  notable  event  during  his  career 
as  Secretary  of  State.  The  object  of  the  congress  was 
the  agreement,  if  possible,  upon  some  plan  by  which  war 
would  be  averted  between  any  two  or  more  of  the  parties 
represented  at  the  congress.  The  conference,  it  was 
intended,  should  likewise  adopt  some  means  of  arbitra- 


98  ELAINE  IN   DIPLOMACY. 


tion  for  preserving  peace  in  the  future.  The  subject  of 
resisting  the  intrigues  of  European  diplomacy  was  also  to 
be  discussed.  This  brilliant  idea,  which  would  undoubt 
edly  have  resulted  in  closer  relationship  with  our  conti 
nental  neighbors,  if  nothing  more  important,  also 
resulted  in  no  good,  Mr.  Elaine's  successor  having  also 
countermanded  the  convention  of  the  proposed  congress. 
Mr.  Elaine's  suggestion  was  generally  approved  wher 
ever  it  was  understood,  and  it  was  regarded  as  certain 
that  all  troubles  between  the  different  American  States 
could  be  quickly,  satisfactorily,  and  effectually  adjusted 
by  means  of  a  system  of  arbitration. 

Commenting  upon  the  proposed  treaty,  one  writer  says : 

"  The  triumph  of  Christian  principles,  as  applied  to 
the  affairs  of  nations,  was  within  our  grasp,  and  could 
have  been  reached  by  the  mere  asking  for  it.  Its 
influence  throughout  Christendom  would  have  been 
immense,  and  generations  of  men  yet  to  come  would 
have  learned  to  bless  the  seventeen  nations  of  the  new 
world,  and  speak  the  name  of  Elaine  with  reverence." 

Concerning  the  proposed  Congress  of  American  States 
Mr.  Elaine  wrote  shortly  after : 

"  It  was  an  important  and  impressive  step  on  the  part 
of  the  United  States  toward  closer  relationship  with  our 
continental  neighbors.  In  no  event  could  harm  have 
resulted  in  the  assembling  of  a  Peace  Congress.  Failure 
was  next  to  impossible.  Success  might  be  regarded  as 
certain.  The  subject  to  be  discussed  was  peace,  and  how 


ELAINE   IN    DIPLOMACY. 

it  can  be  permanently  preserved  in  North  and  South 
America.  The  labors  of  the  congress  would  have  prob 
ably  ended  in  a  well  digested  system  of  arbitration,  under 
which  all  troubles  between  American  States  could  be 
quickly,  effectually,  and  satisfactorily  adjusted.  Such  a 
consummation  would  have  been  worth  a  great  struggle 
and  a  great  sacrifice.  It  could  have  been  reached  with 
out  any  struggle,  and  would  have  involved  no  sacrifice. 
It  was  within  our  grasp.  It  was  ours  for  the  asking. 
It  would  have  been  a  signal  victory  of  philanthropy  ovfcc 
the  selfishness  of  human  ambition ;  a  complete  triumph 
of  Christian  principles  as  applied  to  the  affairs  of 
Nations.  It  would  have  reflected  enduring  honor  on  our 
new  country,  and  would  have  imparted  a  new  spirit  and 
a  new  brotherhood  to  all  America.  Nor  would  its  influ 
ence  beyond  the  sea  have  been  small.  The  example  of 
seventeen  independent  nations  solemnly  agreeing  to 
abolish  the  arbitrament  of  the  sword,  and  to  settle  every 
dispute  by  peaceful  methods  of  adjudication,  would  have 
exerted  an  influence  to  the  utmost  confines  of  civiliza 
tion,  and  upon  the  generations  of  men  yet  to  come." 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  England  would  look 
with  satisfaction  on  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Elaine  to  establish 
such  relations  with  the  South  American  states  as  would 
tend  to  increase  the  commerce  of  the  United  States  in 
that  direction,  and  proportionally  diminish  the  volume  of 
British  trade.  The  English  papers  of  that  time  had  a 

5* 


100  ELAINE  IN   DIPLOMACY. 

great  deal  to  say  on  the  subject,  and  from  a  British  point 
of  view  the  wickedness  of  his  action  was  plainly  indi 
cated.  Mr.  Elaine  has  been  an  earnest  advocate  of  direct 
trade  with  South  America,  and  the  congress  of  American 
nations  was  an  important  movement  for  securing  the 
desired  result. 

The  day  after  his  nomination  for  the  Presidency,  the 
Pall  Mall  Gazette  published  the  following,  under  the 
heading,  "  A  Eeaconsfield  Beyond  the  Sea :" 

"  Mr.  Elaine's  nomination  is  the  most  notable  event 
for  England  since  President  Lincoln  was  assassinated. 
Wherever  Mr.  Blame  can  oust  the  British  from  the  posi 
tion  they  hold  on  the  American  Continent  he  will  endeavor 
to  replace  English  influence  and  trade  by  American.  His 
menacing  intimation  that  he  would  disregard  the  Clayton- 
Bulwer  treaty  is  an  evil  augury  for  the  future  relations 
of  England  and  America.  His  intervention  in  Peru  was 
most  ominous  when  he  declared  that  he  disliked  England 
to  win  commercial  triumphs  in  fields  which  legitimately 
belong  to  America.  England  will  watch  with  extreme 
solicitude  the  progress  of  the  Electoral  campaign." 

There  is  no  question  but  that  "  England  will  watch 
with  extreme  solicitude  the  progress  of  the  Electoral 
campaign,"  and,  should  it  result  in  the  election  of  Mr. 
Elaine,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  event  will  be  regarded 
as  a  calamity  in  the  minds  of  many  British  merchants. 
The  American  merchant  and  the  American  manufacturer 


ELAINE   IN    DIPLOMACY.  101 

will  have  a  different  feeling  on  the  subject ;  there  will  be 
a  prospect  of  regaining  a  part,  at  least,  of  the  trade  that 
has  gone  from  us  to  Great  Britain,  and  the  Pall  Mall 
G-azette  states  the  case  fairly  when  it  says :  "  Wherever 
Mr.  Elaine  can  oust  the  British  from  the  commercial 
position  they  hold  on  the  American  Continent  he  will 
endeavor  to  replace  English  influence  and  trade  by 
American." 


CHAPTER  VII. 


ELAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GARFIELD. 

Assassination  of  President  Garfield. — Mr.  Elaine's  Narrow  Escape. 
— His  Devotion  to  the  Wounded  President. — His  Celebrated  Eulogy 
on  Garfield. — A  Masterpiece  of  Eloquence. — How  it  was  Received. — 
A  Distinguished  Audience. — Breathless  Attention. — Comparison 
between  1805  and  1881.— The  Ancestors  of  Garfield.— Cause  of  the 
English  and  French  Emigrations  to  America. — Garfield's  Boyhood. — 
A  Life  of  Privation  and  Poverty. — His  Struggle  for  Education. — 
Youth  and  College  Days. — His  Military  Life  and  Record.— Rare 
Honors. — His  Career  in  Congress. — Garfield's  Place  in  History. — His 
Services  as  President. — Religious  Convictions. — Closing  Scenes  of 
an  Honorable  Life. 

On  the  morning  of  July  2d,  1881,  President  Garfield 
went  to  the  station  of  the  Baltimore  &  Potomac  rail 
way  to  take  the  limited  express  train  for  New  York,  on 
his  way  to  a  reunion  with  his  classmates  of  Williams 
College.  Mr.  Elaine  accompanied  him  to  the  station  and 
was  walking  arm-in-arm  with  his  chief  when  the  report 
of  Guiteau's  pistol  rang  through  the  building.  Garfield 
was  shot  down  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  and  during 
the  weeks  that  he  lingered  the  nation  was  without  a 
responsible  head.  The  story  is  too  well  known  to  need 

(102) 


ELAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GARFIELD.  105 

repetition  here.  The  whole  civilized  world  shared  in  the 
sorrow  of  the  Western  Republic,  and  from  every  land 
came  expressions  of  sympathy  at  the  Nation's  loss. 

Throughout  all  that  weary  and  dreadful  time,  Mr. 
Elaine's  devotion  to  the  President  was  unflagging.  Day 
by  day  and  night  by  night,  he  was  at  the  bedside  of  the 
sufferer,  endeavoring  by  every  means  in  his  power  to 
soothe  the  pain  of  the  assassin's  victim.  At  the  same 
time  he  was  earnest  in  attention  to  his  official  duties,  and 
it  is  the  universal  testimony  of  all  familiar  with  the 
events  that  clustered  around  President  and  Cabinet  from 
the  Second  of  July  till  the  day  of  Garfi eld's  death  that 
the  conduct  of  Mr.  Elaine  was  without  fault. 

By  vote  of  Congress  Mr.  Elaine  was  selected  to  deliver 
a  formal  eulogy  upon  President  Garneld.  Of  this  duty 
he  acquitted  himself  on  the  19th  of  February,  1882, 
before  an  audience  which  included  President  Arthur  and 
his  Cabinet,  both  Houses  of  Congress,  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  the  Foreign  Legations,  and 
many  other  distinguished  personages,  that  rilled  the  Hall 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  to  its  utmost  capacity. 
The  address  was  a  just  and  careful  review  of  the  life 
and  career  of  the  martyred  President,  and  a  most  elo 
quent  tribute  to  his  memory.  Garfield's  place  in  history 
was  clearly  denned,  and  the  address  was  listened  to  with 
breathless  attention,  from  the  first  to  the  final  word  of 
the  speaker's  utterance. 


106  ELAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GARFIELD. 

The  following  extracts  are  presented  with  the  regrc  ( 
that  space  does  not  permit  the  reproduction  of  the  entire 
text  of  the  oration.  They  are  from  a  copy  published 
with  the  authorization  of  Mr.  Elaine,  and  from  the  man 
uscript  that  was  prepared  by  him. 

ELAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GARFIELD. 

"MB.  PKESIDENT. — For  the  second  time  in  this  generation  the 
great  departments  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  are 
assembled  in  the  Hall  of  Representatives  to  do  honor  to  the  mem 
ory  of  a  murdered  President.  Lincoln  fell  at  the  close  of  a  mighty 
struggle  in  which  the  passions  of  men  had  been  deeply  stirred. 
The  tragical  termination  of  his  great  life  added  but  another  to  the 
lengthened  succession  of  horrors  which  had  marked  so  many  lintels 
with  the  blood  of  the  first-born.  Garfield  was  slain  in  a  day  of 
peace,  when  brother  had  been  reconciled  to  brother,  and  when 
anger  and  hate  had  been  banished  from  the  land. 

"  From  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth  till  the  uprising 
against  Charles  I,  about  twenty  thousand  emigrants  came  from 
Old  England  to  New  England.  As  they  came  in  pursuit  of  intel 
lectual  freedom  and  ecclesiastical  independence  rather  than  for 
worldly  honor  and  profit,  the  emigration  naturally  ceased  when  the 
contest  for  religious  liberty  began  in  earnest  at  home.  The  Eng 
lish  emigration  was  never  renewed  ;  and  from  these  twenty  thou 
sand  men,  writh  a  small  emigration  from  Scotland  and  from  France, 
are  descended  the  vast  numbers  who  have  New  England  blood  in 
their  veins. 

"In  1685  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  by  Louis  XIV 
scattered  to  other  countries  four  hundred  thousand  Protestants, 
who  were  among  the  most  intelligent  and  enterprising  of  French 
subjects, — merchants  of  capital,  skilled  manufacturers,  and  handi- 


ELAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GARFIELD.  107 

-;    raftsmen,  superior  at  the  time  to  all  others  in  Europe.     A  consider- 
t  *ble  number  of  these  Huguenot  French  came  to  America ;  a  few 
landed  in  New  England,  and  became  honorably  prominent  in  its 
history. 

"  From  these  two  sources,  the  English-Puritan  and  the  French- 
Huguenot,  came  the  late  President  ;  his  father,  Abram  Garfield, 
being  descended  from  the  one,  and  his  mother,  Eliza  Ballou,  from 
the  other. 

''It  was  good  stock  on  both  sides — none  better,  none  braver,  none 
truer.  There  was  in  it  an  inheritance  of  courage,  of  manliness,  of 
imperishable  love  of  liberty,  of  undying  adherence  to  principle. 
Garfield  was  proud  of  his  blood ;  and,  with  as  much  satisfaction  as 
if  he  were  a  British  nobleman  reading  his  stately  ancestral  record 
in  Burke's  Peerage,  he  spoke  of  himself  as  ninth  in  descent  from 
those  who  would  not  endure  the  oppression  of  the  Stuarts,  and 
seventh  in  descent  from  the  brave  French  Protestants  who  refused 
to  submit  to  tyranny  even  from  the  Grand  Monarque. 

"Gen.  Garfield  delighted  to  dwell  on  these  traits;  and,  during 
his  only  visit  to  England,  he  busied  himself  in  discovering  every 
trace  of  his  forefathers  in  parish  registries  and  on  ancient  army 
rolls.  Sitting  with  a  friend  in  the  gallery  of  the  House  of  Com 
mons  one  night,  after  a  long  day's  labor  in  this  field  of  research, 
he  said  with  evident  elation  that  in  every  war  in  which  for  three 
centuries  patriots  of  English  blood  had  struck  sturdy  blows  for 
constitutional  government  and  human  liberty,  his  family  had  been 
represented.  They  were  at  Marston  Moor,  at  Naseby,  and  at  Pres 
ton;  they  were  at  Bunker  Hill,  at  Saratoga,  and  at  Monmouth; 
and  in  his  own  person  had  battled  for  the  same  great  cause  in  the 
war  which  preserved  the  Union  of  the  States. 

"  Losing  his  father  before  he  was  two  years  old,  the  early  life  of 
Garfield  was  one  of  privation;  but  its  poverty  has  been  made 


108  ELAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GARFIELD. 

indelicately  arid  unjustly  prominent.  Thousands  of  readers  have 
imagined  him  as  the  ragged,  starving  child,  whose  reality  too  often 
greets  the  eye  in  the  squalid  sections  of  our  large  cities.  Gen, 
Garfield's  infancy  and  youth  had  none  of  their  destitution,  none  of 
their  pitiful  features>  appealing  to  the  tender  heart  and  to  the  open 
hand  of  charity.  He  was  a  poor  boy  in  the  same  sense  in  which 
Henry  Clay  was  a  poor  boy ;  in  which  Andrew  Jackson  was  a  poor 
boy ;  in  which  Daniel  Webster  was  a  poor  boy ;  in  the  sense  in 
which  a  large  majority  of  the  eminent  men  of  America  in  all 
generations  have  been  poor  boys. 

"  The  poverty  of  the  frontier  is,  indeed,  no  poverty.  It  is  but 
the  beginning  of  wealth,  and  has  the  boundless  possibilities  of  the 
future  always  opening  before  it.  No  man  ever  grew  up  in  the  agri 
cultural  regions  of  the  West  where  a  house-raising,  or  even  a  corn- 
husking,  is  matter  of  common  interest  and  hopefulness,  with  any 
other  feeling  than  that  of  broad-minded,  generous  independence. 
This  honorable  independence  marked  the  youth  of  Garfield  as  it 
marks  the  youth  of  millions  of  the  best  blood  and  brain  now  train 
ing  for  the  future  citizenship  and  future  government  of  the 
Republic. 

"Garfield's  early  opportunities  for  securing  an  education  were 
extremely  limited,  and  yet  were,  sufficient  to  develop  in  him  an 
intense  desire  to  learn.  •  He  could  read  at  three  years  of  age,  and 
each  winter  he  had  the  advantage  of  the  district  school.  He  read 
all  the  books  to  be  found  within  the  circle  of  his  acquaintance : 
some  of  them  he  got  by  heart.  While  yet  in  childhood  he  was  a 
constant  student  of  the  Bible,  and  became  familiar  with  its  litera 
ture.  The  dignity  and  earnestness  of  his  speech  in  his  maturer  life 
gave  evidence  of  this  early  training.  At  eighteen  years  of  age  he 
was  able  to  teach  school,  and  thenceforward  his  ambition  was  to 
obtain  a  college  education.  To  this  end  he  bent  all  his  efforts, 


ELAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GARFIELD.  109 

working  in  the  harvest-field,  at  the  carpenter's  bench,  and,  in  the 
winter  season,  teaching  the  common  schools  of  the  neighborhood. 
While  thus  laboriously  occupied  he  found  time  to  prosecute  his 
studies,  and  was  so  successful  that  at  twenty-two  years  of  age  he 
was  able  to  enter  the  junior  class  at  Williams  College. 

"From  his  graduation  at  Williams  onward,  to  the  hour  of  his 
tragical  death,  Garfield's  career  was  eminent  and  exceptional. 
Slowly  working  through  his  educational  period,  receiving  his 
diploma  when  twenty-four  years  of  age,  lie  seemed  at  one  bound  to 
spring  into  conspicuous  and  brilliant  success.  Within  six  years  he 
was  successively  president  of  a  college,  State  Senator  of  Ohio, 
major-general  of  the  Army  of  the  United  States,  and  representative 
elect  to  the  National  Congress.  A  combination  of  honors  so  varied, 
so  elevated,  within  a  period  so  brief  and  to  a  man  so  young,  is 
without  precedent  or  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  country. 

"  Garfield's  army  life  was  begun  with  no  other  military  knowl 
edge  than  such  as  he  had  hastily  gained  from  books  in  the  few 
months  preceding  his  march  to  the  field.  Stepping  from  civil  life 
to  the  head  of  a  regiment,  the  first  order  he  received  when  ready  to 
cross  the  Ohio  was  to  assume  command  of  a  brigade,  and  to 
operate  as  an  independent  force  in  Eastern  Kentucky.  Seldom,  if 
ever,  has  a  young  college  professor  been  thrown  into  a  more 
embarrassing  and  discouraging  position.  He  knew  just  enough  of 
military  science,  as  he  expressed  it  himself,  to  measure  the  extent 
of  his  ignorance ;  and  with  a  handful  of  men  he  was  marching,  in 
rouo-h  winter  weather,  into  a  strange  country,  among  a  hostile  pop 
ulation,  to  confront  a  largely  superior  force  under  the  command  of 
a  distinguished  graduate  of  West  Point,  who  had  seen  active  and 
important  service  in  two  preceding  wars. 

"The  result  of  the  campaign  is  matter  of  history.  The  skill, 
the  endurance,  the  extraordinary  energy,  shown  by  Garfield,  the 


110  ELAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GARFIELD. 

courage  he  imparted  to  his  men,  raw  and  untried  as  himself,  the 
measures  he  adopted  to  increase  his  force  and  to  create  in  the 
enemy's  mind  exaggerated  estimates  of  his  numbers,  bore  perfect 
fruit  in  the  routing  of  Marshall,  the  capture  of  his  camp,  the  dis 
persion  of  his  force,  and  the  emancipation  of  an  important  territory 
from  the  control  of  the  Rebellion.  Coming  at  the  close  of  a  long 
series  of  disasters  to  the  Union  arms,  Garfield's  victory  had  an  un 
usual  and  extraneous  importance,  and  in  the  popular  judgment 
elevated  the  young  commander  to  the  rank  of  a  military  hero. 
Major-Gen.  Buell,  commanding  the  Department  of  the  Ohio, 
declared  that  his  service  had  called  into  action  the  highest  qualities 
of  a  soldier;  and  President  Lincoln  supplemented  these  words  of 
praise  by  the  more  substantial  reward  of  a  brigadier-general's  com 
mission. 

' '  The  subsequent  military  career  of  Garfield  fully  sustained  its 
brilliant  beginning.  With  his  new  commission  he  was  assigned  to 
the  command  of  a  brigade  in  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  and  took  part 
in  the  second  and  decisive  day's  fight  in  the  great  battle  of  Shiloh. 
The  remainder  of  the  year  1882  was  not  especially  eventful  to  Gar- 
field,  as  it  was  not  to  the  armies  with  which  he  was  serving. 
************ 
"  Early  in  1863  Garfield  was  assigned  to  the  highly  important 
and  responsible  post  of  chief-of-staff  to  Gen.  Rosecrans,  then  at 
the  head  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland.  He  found  various 
troubles  already  well  developed  and  seriously  affecting  the  value 
and  efficiency  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland.  The  energy,  the 
impartiality,  and  the  tact  with  which  he  sought  to  allay  these 
dissensions,  and  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his  new  and  trying 
position,  will  always  remain  one  of  the  most  striking  proofs  of  his 
great  versatility.  His  military  duties  closed  on  the  memorable 
field  of  Chickaniauga,  a  field  which,  however  disastrous  to  the 


ELAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GARFIELD.  Ill 

Union  arms,  gave  to  him  the  occasion  of  winning  imperishable 
laurels.  The  very  rare  distinction  was  accorded  him  of  a  great 
promotion  for  his  bravery  on  a  field  that  was  lost.  President 
Lincoln  appointed  him  a  major-general  in  the  Army  of  the  United 
States,  for  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  in  the  battle  of 
Chickamauga. 

"The  Army  of  the  Cumberland  was  re-organized  under  the 
command  of  Gen.  Thomas,  who  promptly  offered  Garfield  one  of 
its  divisions.  IJe  was  extremely  desirous  to  accept  the  position, 
but  was  embarrassed  by  the  fact  that  he  had,  a  year  before,  been 
elected  to  Congress,  and  the  time  when  he  must  take  his  seat  was 
drawing  near.  Desirous  above  all  things  to  do  his  patriotic  duty, 
he  was  decisively  influenced  by  the  advice  of  President  Lincoln 
and  Secretary  Stanton,  both  of  whom,  assured  him  that  he  could 
at  that  time  be  of  special  value  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
He  resigned  his  commission  of  major-general  on  the  fifth  day  of 
December,  1863,  and  took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
on  the  seventh. 

"The  Thirty-eighth  Congress  is  pre-eminently  entitled  in  his 
tory  to  the  designation  of  the  "War  Congress.  It  was  elected 
while  the  war  was  flagrant,  and  every  member  was  chosen  upon 
the  issues  involved  in  the  continuance  of  the  struggle.  Only 
twenty-four  States  were  represented,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
two  members  were  upon  its  roll.  Among  these  were  many  dis 
tinguished  party  leaders  on  both  sides,  veterans  in  public,  service, 
•with  established  reputations  for  ability,  and  with  that  skill  which 
comes  only  from  parliamentary  experience.  Into  this  assemblage 
of  men  Garfield  entered  without  special  preparation,  and  it  might 
almost  be  said  unexpectedly.  The  question  of  taking  command, 
of  a  division  of  troops  under  Gen.  Thomas,  or  taking  his  seat  in, 
Congress,  was  kept  open  till  the  last  moment,  —  so  late,  indeed 


112  BLAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GARFIELD. 

that  the  resignation  of  his  military  commission  and  his  appearance 
in  the  House  were  almost  contemporaneous.  He  wore  the  uni 
form  of  a  major-general  of  the  United  States  Army  on  Saturday; 
and  on  Mcnda}^  in  civilian's  dress,  he  answered  to  the  roll-call  as 
a  Representative  in  Congress  from  the  State  of  Ohio. 

"The  great  measure  of  Garfield's  fame  was  filled  by  his  service 
in  the  House  of  Representatives.  His  military  life,  illustrated  by 
honorable  performance,  and  rich  in  promise,  was,  as  he  himself 
felt,  prematurely  terminated,  and  necessarily  incomplete.  Specu 
lation  as  to  what  he  might  have  done,  in  a  field  where  the  great 
prizes  are  so  few,  cannot  be  profitable.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that 
as  a  soldier  he  did  his  duty  bravely,  he  did  it  intelligently,  he  won 
an  enviable  fame,  and  he  retired  from  the  service  without  blot  or 
breath  against  him.  As  a  lawyer,  though  admirably  equipped  for 
the  profession,  he  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  entered  on  its 
practice.  The  few  efforts  that  he  made  at  the  bar  were  distin 
guished  by  the  same  high  order  of  talent  which  he  exhibited  on 
every  field  where  he  was  put  to  the  test;  and,  if  a  man  may  be 
accepted  as  a  competent  judge  of  his  own  capacities  and  adapta 
tions,  the  law  was  the  profession  to  which  Garfield  should  have 
devoted  himself.  But  fate  ordained  otherwise,  and  his  reputation 
in  history  will  rest  largely  upon  his  service  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives.  That  service  was  exceptionally  long.  He  was  nine 
times  consecutively  chosen  to  the  House,  an  honor  enjoyed  by  not 
more  than  six  other  Representatives  of  the  more  than  five  thousand 
who  have  been  elected  from  the  organization  of  the  government  to 
this  hour. 

"  As  a  parliamentary  orator,  as  a  debater  on  an  issue  squarely 
joined,  where  the  position  had  been  chosen  and  the  ground  laid 
out,  Garfield  must  be  assigned  a  very  high  rank.  More,  perhaps, 
than  any  man  with  whom  he  was  associated  in  public  life,  he  gave 


ELAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GARFIELD.  113 

careful  and  systematic  study  to  public  questions,  and  he  came  to 
every  discussion  in  which  he  took  part  with  elaborate  and  com 
plete  preparation.  He  was  a  steady  and  indefatigable  worker. 
He  was  a  pre-eminently  fair  and  candid  man  in  debate,  took  no 
petty  advantage,  stooped  to  no  unworthy  methods,  avoided  per 
sonal  allusions,  rarely  appealed  to  prejudice,  did  not  seek  to 
inflame  passion.  He  had  a  quicker  eye  for  the  strong  point  of  his 
adversary  than  for  his  weak  point,  and  on  his  own  side  he  so  mar 
shaled  his  weighty  arguments  as  to  make  his  hearers  forget  any 
possible  lack  in  the  complete  strength  of  his  position.  He  had  a 
habit  of  stating  his  opponent's  side  with  such  amplitude  of  fairness 
and  such  liberality  of  concession  that  his  followers  often  com 
plained  that  he  was  giving  his  case  away.  But  never  in  his  pro 
longed  participation  in  the  proceedings  of  the  House  did  he  give 
his  case  away,  or  fail,  in  the  judgment  of  competent  and  impartial 
listeners,  to  gain  the  mastery.' 

"Those  unfamiliar  with  Garfield's  industry,  and  ignorant  of  the 
details  of  his  work,  may,  in  some  degree,  measure  them  by  the 
annals  of  Congress.  No  one  of  the  generation  of  public  men  to 
which  he  belonged  has  contributed  so  much  that  will  be  valua 
ble  for  future  reference.  His  speeches  are  numerous,  many  of 
them  brilliant,  all  of  them  well  studied,  carefully  phrased,  and 
exhaustive  of  the  subject  under  consideration.  Collected  from  the 
scattered  pages  of  ninety  royal  octavo  volumes  of  Congressional 
Record,  they  would  present  an  invaluable  compendium  of  the 
political  history  of  the  most  important  era  through  which  the 
National  Government  has  ever  passed.  When  the  history  of  this 
period  shall  be  impartially  written,  when  war  legislation,  measures 
of  reconstruction,  protection  of  human  rights,  amendments  to  the 
Constitution,  maintenance  of  public  credit,  steps  towards  specie 
resumption,  true  theories  of  revenue,  may  be  reviewed,  unsur- 


114  ELAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GARFIELD. 

rounded  by  prejudice  and  disconnected  from  partisanism,  the 
speeches  of  Garficld  will  be  estimated  at  their  true  value,  and  will 
be  found  to  comprise  a  vast  magazine  of  fact  and  argument,  of 
clear  analysis  and  sound  conclusion. 

"Garfield's  nomination  to  the  Presidency,  while  not  predicted 
or  anticipated,  was  not  a  surprise  to  the  country.  His  prominence 
in  Congress,  his  solid  qualities,  his  wide  reputation,  strengthened 
by  his  then  recent  election  as  a  Senator  from  Ohio,  kept  him  in  the 
public  eye  as  a  man  occupying  the  very  highest  rank  among  those 
entitled  to  be  called  statesmen.  As  a  candidate  he  steadily  grew 
in  popular  favor.  He  was  met  with  a  storm  of  detraction  at  the 
very  hour  of  his  nomination,  and  it  continued  with  increasing  vol 
ume  and  momentum  until  the  close  of  his  victorious  campaign. 

" '  No  might  nor  greatness  in  mortality 

Can  censure  'scape;  back- wounding  calumny 
The  whitest  virtue  strikes.    What  king  so  strong 
Can  tie  the  gall  up  in  the  slanderous  tongue?' 

"  Under  it  all  he  was  cairn  and  strong  and  confident ;  never  lost 
his  self-possession,  did  no  unwise  act,  spoke  no  hasty  or  ill-consid 
ered  word.  Indeed,  nothing  in  his  whole  life  is  more  remarkable 
or  more  creditable  than  his  bearing  through  those  five  full  months 
of  vituperation, — a  prolonged  agony  of  trial  to  a  sensitive  man,  a 
constant  and  cruel  draft  upon  the  powers  of  moral  endurance. 
The  great  mass  of  these  unjust  imputations  passed  unnoticed,  and 
with  the  general  debris  of  the  campaign  fell  into  oblivion.  But  in 
a  few  instances  the  iron  entered  his  soul,  and  he  died  with  the 
injury  unforgotten  if  not  unforgiven. 

"  In  the  beginning  of  his  presidential  life  Garfield's  experience 
did  not  yield  him  pleasure  or  satisfaction.  The  duties  that  engross 
so  large  a  portion  of  the  President's  time  were  distasteful  to  him, 
and  were  unfavorably  contrasted  with  his  legislative  work.  But, 


ELAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GARFIELD.  115 

while  many  of  the  executive  duties  were  not  grateful  to  him,  he 
was  assiduous  and  conscientious  in  their  discharge.  From  the  very 
outset  he  exhibited  administrative  talent  of  a  high  order.  He 
grasped  the  helm  of  office  with  the  hand  of  a  master.  His  dispo 
sition  of  business  was  orderly  and  rapid.  His  power  of  analysis, 
and  his  skill  in  classification,  enabled  him  to  dispatch  a  vast  mass 
of  detail  with  singular  promptness  and  ease.  His  Cabinet  meetings 
were  admirably  conducted.  His  clear  presentation  of  official  sub 
jects,  his  well-considered  suggestion  of  topics  on  which  discussion 
was  invited,  his  quick  decision  when  all  had  been  heard,  combined 
to  show  a  thoroughness  of  mental  training  as  rare  as  his  natural 
ability  and  his  facile  adaptation  to  a  new  and  enlarged  field  of 
labor. 

"Gar-field's  ambition  for  the  success  of  his  administration  was 
high.  With  strong  caution  and  conservatism  in  his  nature,  he 
was  in  no  danger  of  attempting  rash  experiments  or  of  resorting 
to  the  empiricism  of  statesmanship.  But  he  believed  that  renewed 
and  closer  attention  should  be  given  to  questions  affecting  the 
material  interests  and  commercial  prospects  of  fifty  millions  of 
people.  He  believed  that  our  continental  relations,  extensive  and 
undeveloped  as  they  are,  involved  responsibility,  and  could  be  cul 
tivated  into  profitable  friendship  or  be  abandoned  to  harmful  indif 
ference  or  lasting  enmity.  He  believed  with  equal  confidence  that 
an  essential  forerunner  to  a  new  era  of  national  progress  must  be  a 
feeling  of  contentment  in  every  section  of  the  Union,  and  a  gener 
ous  belief  that  the  benefits  and  burdens  of  government  would  be 
common  to  all.  He  was  an  American  in  all  his  aspirations,  and  he 
looked  to  the  destiny  and  influence  of  the  United  States  with  the 
philosophic  composure  of  Jefferson  and  the  demonstrative  confi 
dence  of  John  Adams. 

"The  religious  element  in  Garfield's  character  was  deep  and 


116  ELAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GARFIELD. 

earnest.  In  his  early  youth  he  espoused  the  faith  of  the  Disciples, 
a  sect  of  that  great  Baptist  communion,  wind  in  different  eccle 
siastical  establishments  is  so  numerous  and  so  influential  through 
out  all  parts  of  the  United  States.  But  the  broadening  tendency 
of  his  mind  and  his  active  spirit  of  inquiry  were  early  apparent, 
and  carried  him  beyond  the  dogma's  sect  and  the  restraints  of  asso 
ciation.  In  selecting  a  college  in  which  to  continue  his  education, 
he  rejected  Bethany,  though  presided  over  by  Alexander  Campbell, 
the  greatest  preacher  of  his  Church.  His  reasons  were  character 
istic  :  first,  that  Bethany  leaned  too  heavily  toward  slavery ;  and, 
second,  that  being  himself  a  Disciple,  and  the  son  of  Disciple 
parents,  he  had  little  acquaintance  with  people  of  other  beliefs, 
and  he  thought  it  would  make  him  more  liberal, — quoting  his  own 
words, — both  in  his  religious  and  general  views,  to  go  into  a  new 
circle,  and  be  under  new  influences. 

"The  liberal  tendency  which  he  anticipated  as  the  result  of 
wider  culture  was  fully  realized.  He  was  emancipated  from  mere 
sectarian  belief,  and  with  eager  interest  pushed  his  investigations 
in  the  direction  of  modern  progressive  thought.  He  followed 
with  quickening  step  in  the  paths  of  exploration  and  speculation 
so  fearlessly  trodden  by  Darwin,  by  Huxley,  by  Tyndall,  and  by 
other  living  scientists  of  the  radical  and  advanced  type.  But  after 
this  range  of  speculation,  and  this  latitude  of  doubt,  Garfield  came 
back  always  with  freshness  and  delight  to  the  simpler  instincts  of 
religious  faith,  which,  earliest  implanted,  longest  survive.  Not 
many  weeks  before  his  assassination,  walking  on  the  banks  of  the 
Potomac  with  a  friend,  and  conversing  on  those  topics  of  per 
sonal  religion  concerning  which  noble  natures  have  an  uncon 
querable  reserve,  he  said  that  he  found  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the 
simple  petitions  learned  in  infancy  infinitely  restful  to  him,  not 
merely  in  their  stated  repetition,  but  in  their  casual  and  frequent 
recall  as  he  went  about  the  daily  duties  of  life. 


ELAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GARFIELD.  117 

"The  crowning  characteristic  of  Gen.  Garfield's  religious  opin 
ions,  as,  indeed,  of  all  his  opinions,  was  his  liberality.  In  all 
things  he  had  charity.  Tolerance  was  of  his  nature.  He  respected 
in  others  the  qualities  which  he  possessed  himself,  —  sincerity  of 
conviction,  and  frankness  of  expression.  With  him  the  inquiry 
was  not  so  much  what  a  man  believes,  but,  does  he  believe  it? 
The  lines  of  his  friendship  and  his  confidence  encircled  men  of 
every  creed,  and  men  of  no  creed;  and  to  the  end  of  his  life,  on 
his  ever-lengthening  list  of  friends,  were  to  be  found  the  names  of 
a  pious  Catholic  priest  and  of  an  honest-minded  and  generous- 
hearted  free-thinker. 

1 '  On  the  morning  of  Saturday,  July  2,  the  President  was  a 
contented  and  happy  man  —  not  in  an  ordinary  degree,  but  joy 
fully,  almost  boyishly  happy.  On  his  way  to  the  railroad-station 
to  which  he  drove  slowly,  in  conscious  enjoyment  of  the  beautiful 
morning,*with  an  unwonted  sense  of  leisure  and  a  keen  anticipa 
tion  of  pleasure,  his  talk  was  all  in  the  grateful  and  gratulatory 
vein. 

"  Surely,  if  happiness  can  ever  come  from  the  honors  or 
triumphs  of  this  world,  on  that  quiet  July  morning  James  A. 
Garfield  may  well  have  been  a  happy  man.  No  foreboding  of  evil 
haunted  him ;  no  slightest  premonition  of  danger  clouded  his  skv. 
His  terrible  fate  was  upon  him  in  an  instant.  One  moment  he 
stook  erect,  strong,  confident  in  the  years  stretching  peacefully  out 
before  him.  The  next  he  lay  wounded,  bleeding,  helpless,  doomed 
to  weary  weeks  of  torture,  to  silence,  and  the  grave. 

"  Great  in  life,  he  was  surpassingly  great  in  death.  For  no 
cause,  in  the  very  frenzy  of  wantonness  and  wickedness,  by  the 
red  hand  of  murder,  he  was  thrust  from  the  full  tide  of  this 
world's  interest,  from  its  hopes,  its  aspirations,  its  victories,  into 
the  visible  presence  of  death  —  and  he  did  not  quail.  Not  alone 
6 


118  ELAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GARFIELD. 

for  the  one  short  moment  in  which,  stunned  and  dazed,  he  could 
give  up  life,  hardly  aware  of  its  relinquishment,  but  through  days 
of  deadly  languor,  through  weeks  of  agony,  that  was  not  less 
agony  because  silently  borne,  with  clear  sight  and  calm  courage, 
he  looked  into  his  open  grave.  What  blight  and  ruin  met  his 
anguished  eyes,  whose  lips  may  tell!  —  what  brilliant  broken 
plans,  what  baffled  high  ambitions,  what  sundering  of  strong 
warm  manhood's  friendships,  what  bitter  rending  of  sweet  house 
hold  ties !  Behind  him  a  proud,  expectant  nation,  a  great  host  of 
sustaining  friends;  a  cherished  and  happy  mother,  wearing  the 
full,  rich  honors  of  her  early  toil  and  tears;  the  wife  of  his  youth, 
whose  whole  life  lay  in  his ;  the  little  boys  not  yet  emerged  from 
childhood's  day  of  frolic;  the  fair  young  daughter;  the  sturdy 
sons  just  springing  into  closest  companionship,  claiming  every  day 
and  every  day  rewarding  a  father's  love  and  care;  and  in  his  heart 
the  eager,  rejoicing  power  to  meet  all  demands.  Before  him,  deso 
lation  and  great  darkness!  And  his  soul  was  not  shaken.  His 
countrymen  were  thrilled  with  instant,  profound,  and  universal 
sympathy.  Masterful  in  mortal  weakness,  he  became  the  center 
of  a  nation's  love,  enshrined  in  the  prayers  of  a  world.  But  all 
the  love  and  all  the  sympathy  could  not  share  with  him  the  suffer 
ing.  He  trod  the  wine-press  alone.  With  unfaltering  front  he  faced 
death.  With  unfailing  tenderness  he  took  leave  of  life.  Above 
the  demoniac  hiss  of  the  assassin's  bullet  he  heard  the  voice  of 
God.  With  simple  resignation  he  bowed  to  the  divine  decree. 

"  As  the  end  drew  near,  his  early  craving  for  the  sea  returned. 
The  stately  mansion  of  power  had  been  to  him  the  wearisome 
hospital  of  pain ;  and  he  begged  to  be  taken  from  its  prison  walls, 
from  its  oppressive,  stifling  air,  from  its  homelessness  and  its 
hopelessness.  Gently,  silently,  the  love  of  a  great  people  bore  the 
pale  sufferer  to  the  longed-for  healing  of  the  sea,  to  live  or  to 


ELAINE'S  EULOGY  ON  GAHFIELD.  119 

die,  as  God  should  will,  within  sight  of  its  heaving  billows,  within 
sound  of  its  manifold  voices.  "With  wan,  fevered  face  tenderly 
lifted  to  the  cooling  breeze,  he  looked  out  wistfully  upon  the 
ocean's  changing  wonders,  —  on  its  fair  sails, .  whitening  in  the 
morning  light ;  on  its  restless  waves,  rolling  shoreward  to  break 
and  die  beneath  the  noonday  sun ;  on  the  red  clouds  of  evening, 
arching  low  to  the  horizon ;  on  the  serene  and  shining  pathway  of 
the  stars.  Let  us  think  that  his  dying  eyes  read  a  mystic  mean 
ing  which  only  the  rapt  and  parting  soul  may  know.  Let  us 
believe  that  in  the  silence  of  the  receding  world  he  heard  the 
great  waves  breaking  on  a  farther  shore,  and  felt  already  upon  his 
wasted  brow  the  breath  of  the  eternal  morning." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


ELAINE  AND  HIS  PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS. 

Personal  Magnetism  of  Mr.  Elaine. — His  Character  Among  His 
Friends. — His  Powers  as  a  Conversationalist. — Reminded  of  Little 
Stories. — An  Anecdote  to  the  Point. — "  How  Salt  this  Soup  is!  but  I 
Like  it." — How  he  is  Regarded  at  Home. — Personal  Friends  Among 
Democrats. — Reminiscences  of  Hon.  Robert  E.  Williams  of"  Illinois. 
— Chums  at  College. — Elaine's  Ambition  to  be  a  Journalist. — Meeting 
after  an  Interval  of  Thirty  Years. — Elaine's  Recognition  of  His  Old 
Friend.—"  Bobby  Williams." — Story  of  an  Introduction  at  a  Recep 
tion. — How  a  Stranger  was  Impressed. — Magnetism  at  the  Chicago 
Convention. — Excitement  among  Delegates  and  Speculators — A  Cor 
respondent's  Interview. — The  White  Dove  at  Chicamauga. — Elaine's 
Prank  with  the  Haystack. 

Every  positive  man  in  this  world  has  many  friends 
unless  he  is  peculiarly  constituted,  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
he  generally  has  a  goodly  array  of  enemies.  Mr.  Blame 
is  no  exception  to  this  rule.  He  is  described  as  warm 
hearted  in  the  fullest  meaning  of  that  oft-abused  word, 
ready  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  aid  his  friends  without 
thought  of  a  possible  return  for  his  efforts,  and  an  embod 
iment  of  charity  and  generosity  whose  like  is  not  easy 
to  find.  His  personal  magnetism  has  been  made  the  sub- 

(120) 


ELAINE   AND    HIS   PERSONAL   CHARACTERISTICS.        121 

ject  of  many  a  graphic  story,  and  the  influence  of  his 
name  upon  multitudes  who  never  met  him  face  to  face  is 
indicated  by  the  wild  enthusiasm  that  greeted  his  nomi 
nation  at  Chicago.  Men  who  have  attended  all  the 
National  Conventions  for  the  last  twenty  years  say  it  has 
never  been  surpassed  in  a  single  instance  and  many  of 
them  declare  it  has  never  been  equaled.  And  all  this 
for  a  man  who  had  been  for  three  years  out  of  public 
life,  was  not  on  friendly  terms  with  the  administration, 
and  had  not  an  office  to  bestow  upon  one  of  his  followers. 
If  there  was  any  other  than  unalloyed  and  spontaneous 
enthusiasm  for  the  nominee  and  the  Republican  cause, 
it  must  have  been  inspired  by  that  gratitude  which  has 
been  denned  as  a  lively  anticipation  of  favors  to  come, 
and  they  could  not  very  well  come  until  after  the  election. 
There  is  abundant  testimony  to  the  genial  nature  of 
the  Republican  nominee  for  the  Presidency  among  those 
who  know  him  in  public  as  well  as  in  private  life.  As  a 
conversationalist  he  holds  high  rank,  and  he  could  hardly 
be  otherwise  when  we  remember  his  readiness  in  debate 
as  shown  during  his  career  in  Congress.  Many  a  man 
can  talk  well  in  private  who  is  a  poor  orator,  but  the 
good  orator  is  pretty  certain  to  carry  his  talking  abilities 
wherever  he  goes.  Mr.  Elaine  is  an  excellent  raconteur 
and  has  always  an  abundance  of  anecdotes  ready  for  use  ; 
he  does  not  appear  to  charge  his  memory  with  them,  but 
they  come  up  without  effort  whenever  occasion  requires. 


122       ELAINE  AND   HIS  PERSONAL   CHARACTERISTICS. 

One  who  knows  him  intimately  says  that  when  with  Mr. 
Elaine  he  often  thinks  of  the  late  President  Lincoln  in 
consequence  of  the  frequency  with  which  the  man  from 
Maine  is  reminded  of  a  little  story.  His  anecdotes  are 
nearly  always  to  the  point  and  need  no  explanation  to 
to  make  them  understood. 

As  an  illustration  of  Mr.  Elaine's  story-telling  we  will 
take  the  following.  It  has  "  been  the  rounds  "  but  will 
bear  repetition. 

It  will  be  remembered  by  many  who  were  conversant 
with  the  course  of  matters  at  Washington  immediately 
after  the  inauguration  of  President  Hayes,  that  there 
was  a  good  deal  of  inharmony  between  the  official  head 
of  the  nation  and  the  leaders  of  the  Republican  party. 
Things  were  not  at  all  to  the  liking  of  the  latter,  but 
there  was  no  rupture  of  relations  between  them  and  the 
President. 

During  this  period  Mr.  Elaine  was  one  day  in  New 
York  and  somebody  asked  him  how  matters  were  going 
with  the  new  administration. 

"Things  at  Washington  remind  me,"  said  Mr.  Elaine, 
"  of  my  experience  years  ago  on  a  fishing  excursion. 
We  made  up  a  party  in  Augusta  to  go  on  a  trip  to  Moose- 
head  Lake ;  we  wrere  to  camp  out  and  the  work  of  the 
camp  was  to  be  performed  by  the  members  of  the  party 
in  turn. 

"  We  drew  lots  to  decide  who  should  be  cook,  and 


ELAINE    AND    HIS   PERSONAL   CHARACTERISTICS.        123 

before  doing  so  it  was  agreed  that  the  first  man  who 
found  fault  with  the  table  should  be  installed  in  the 
office  and  the  original  cuisinier  relieved.  The  man  on 
whom  the  lot  fell  determined  to  make  his  term  of  service 
as  brief  as  possible,  and  the  very  first  day  he  put  about  a 
pound  of  salt  into  the  soup  kettle. 

"  When  we  sat  down  to  dinner  the  first  man  who 
tasted  the  soup  exclaimed  '  how  salt  this  soup  is ! '  .  .  . 
'  but  I  like  it,  I  like  it ; '  he  added  almost  in  the  same 
breath,  and  proceeded  to  work  rapidly  with  his  spoon  till 
he  had  swallowed  every  drop  of  the  brine.  The  rest  of 
us  followed  his  example  and  there  was  never  a  more 
popular  or  highly-praised  soup  in  the  Maine  backwoods 
than  what  we  had  that  day." 

A  correspondent  writing  from  Augusta  a  few  days 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  Chicago  Convention  says  : 

"  Mr.  Elaine's  mansion  and  grounds  show  the  effect  of 
the  crowds  that  have  visited  there  since  his  nomination. 
On  the  lawn  the  grass  is  so  trodden  down  that  it  almost 
looks  winter-killed,  and  the  probability  is  that  it  will 
not  again  this  summer  look  as  well  as  it  did  the  day 
the  convention  declared  Elaine  the  choice  of  the  Repub 
lican  delegates. 

"  There  have  been  many  curious  things  about  these 
visits  of  Mr.  Elaine's  friends.  Democrats  as  well  as 
Republicans  have  united  to  do  him  honor.  Outside  of 
Augusta  there  is  some  feeling  among  the  Democrats  at 


124        ELAINE   AND    HIS   PERSONAL   CHARACTERISTICS. 

the  course  their  brethren  have  taken,  but  it  avails  noth 
ing.  Mr.  Elaine's  friendships  are  more  than  skin  deep, 
and  the  election  this  fall  will  show  him  to  have  a  larger 
following  than  the  Republican  party  of  the  State  alone 
could  command.  Already  the  republican  majority  is  set 
down  at  20,000,  an  increase  of  15,000  over  anything  that 
has  been  recorded  for  about  eight  years." 

The  Evening  Leader  of  Bloomington,  Illinois,  pub 
lished  a  story  which  was  told  to  one  of  its  reporters  by 
Hon.  Robert  E.  Williams,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  the 
Prairie  State.  Mr.  Williams  said  "  Elaine  was  a  big- 
hearted,  whole-souled,  good-natured  fellow  in  his  college 
days.  We  both  attended  Washington  College  in  Penn 
sylvania,  and  were  intimate  friends.  Elaine  was  a  good 
companion  in  his  school-boy  days.  Strong  in  physical 
strength,  fond  of  out-door  sports,  yet  in  a  certain  sense 
loving  seclusion  and  his  books.  He  was  a  faithful  stu 
dent,  and  was  regarded  by  his  college-mates  as  a  brilliant 
and  progressive  scholar.  He  was  an  aggressive  fellow 
whenever  there  was  anything  to  be  accomplished  which 
he  thought  would  be  productive  of  good  results.  From 
his  earliest  college  days  he  seemed  to  have  but  one  ambi 
tion,  and  that  was  to  make  his  mark  as  a  journalist. 
He  was  an  industrious  writer,  and  wrote  perhaps  during 
his  college  course  a  greater  number  and  greater  variety 
of  essays  and  other  articles  than  any  member  of  his 
class.  He  used  to  remark  that  a  school-teacher  or  an 


ELAINE    AND    HIS   PERSONAL   CHARACTERISTICS.        125 

editor  could  accomplish  moro  good  in  the  world  than 
any  one  else,  and  he  thought  after  leaving  college  he 
would  surely  enter  the  journalistic  walks  of  life.  I  left 
Washington  College  in  1845,  and  one  day,  I  think  it  was 
in  1848,  while  walking  in  the  streets  of  Lexington,  Ky., 
I  ran  across  Jim  Elaine.  He  was  at  that  time  teaching 
school  at  Georgetown,  Ky.,  and  had  come  with  thousands 
of  others  to  hear  Henry  Clay  deliver  his  great  and  mem 
orable  speech  in  that  city.  We  sat  down  and  had  a  long 
talk,  and  he  gave  me,  in  a  brief  manner,  his  future  plans. 

"  I  lost  track  of  Elaine  after  that  until  I  heard  that  he 
was  publishing  a  newspaper  in  the  City  of  Portland, 
Maine.  His  political  history,  which  is  so  well  known, 
is  an  evidence  of  his  vaulting  ambition,  for  in  my  opin 
ion  Elaine  was  always  ambitious.  In  his  student  life 
this  cropped  out,  and  he  never  was  at  any  time  regarded 
in  any  other  way.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  if  Elaine 
had  kept  out  of  politics  altogether  and  pursued  the 
journalistic  profession,  his  star  would  have  been  just  as 
bright.  He  would  have  made  his  influence  felt,  and  in 
time  been  regarded,  like  Horace  Greeley,  as  one  of  the 
greatest  newspaper  writers  of  his  time. 

"  I  remember  the  last  time  I  met  Mr.  Elaine.  After 
meeting  him  in  1848,  in  Lexington,  Kentucky,  upon  the 
occasion  of  Henry  Clay's  great  speech,  I  did  not  see 
him  again  until  thirty  years  after.  I  happened  to  be  in 
Chicago  in  1878,  and  while  a  guest  of  the  Grand  Pacific 


126        ELAINE   AND    HIS   PERSONAL   CHARACTERISTICS. 

Hotel,  I  learned  that  Elaine  was  also  stopping  at  the 
hotel.  Jim  Root, the  well-known  lawyer  and  Republican 
politician  of  Illinois,  was  sitting  in  a  seat  with  me,  and 
I  told  him  that  I  had  been  Elaine's  college  chum  years 
before.  I  had  not  seen  him  for  thirty  years,  and 
wondered  if  he  would  know  me. 

" '  Well,'  remarked  Root,  <  let's  try  it.  Elaine  is  up 
in  the  dining-room  eating  his  dinner,  and  we  will  go  up 
and  meet  him.'  We  then  went  up-stairs,  and  just  as  we 
arrived  at  the  door  of  the  gentlemen's  parlor,  Elaine  and 
one  or  two  others  were  coming  out  of  the  dining-room. 
Mr.  Root,  who  was  personally  acquainted  with  the  man 
now  so  famous,  said  :  '  Mr.  Elaine,  here  is  an  old  friend 
of  yours  whom  you  have  not  seen  for  years.'  He  came 
up  to  us  and  I  extended  my  hand.  He  shook  it  in  a 
cordial  manner.  He  did  not  seem  to  know  me.  He 
was  in  a  deep  study,  and  looked  at  me  for  several 
moments.  I  remarked:  'Mr.  Elaine,  you  are  a  good- 
looking  man,  but  not  as  handsome  a  man  as  your  father 
was'  (who  was  a  very  fine  specimen  of  physical  man 
hood  and  culture). 

"  Almost  instantly  Elaine  raised  his  hand  to  my  head, 
and,  raising  my  hat,  looked  again.  '  Oh,  it  is  "  Bobby  " 
Williams.  I  know  you,  Bobby,  by  your  voice.  But  I 
think  you  have  changed  considerably.'  We  had  a  pleas 
ant  afternoon  together,  reviving  old  memories,  and  in  a 
few  days  afterwards  he  made  a  three-hours'  speech  in 


ELAINE   AND   HIS   PERSONAL   CHARACTERISTICS.        127 

Bloomington,  addressing  several  thousand  people  in 
Dimmitt's  Grove,  southeast  of  the  city  a  short  distance. 
He  was  my  guest  part  of  the  afternoon,  and  in  talking 
over  matters  what  surprised  him  the  most  was  to  hear 
that  I  was  a  Democrat." 

Mr.  Elaine  possesses  the  faculty  of  making  himself  , 
agreeable  to  strangers,  even  in  an  interview  of  only  a 
few  moments  ;  it  is  an  accomplishment  which  every  man 
in  public  life  desires  to  master,  but  it  is  not  vouchsafed 
to  everybody.  It  may  be  spontaneous  with  him,  or  the 
result  of  careful  study.  At  all  events,  he  has  it,  and 
there  are  not  many  who  care  to  go  "  behind  the  returns," 
to  find  its  origin. 

"  I  never  met  Elaine  to  speak  to  him  but  once  in  my 
life,"  said  a  gentleman  recently  to  the  writer  of  this 
page,  "  though  I  have  seen  him  frequently.  I  was 
invited  to  a  reception  in  his  honor  at  the  Penn  Club  in 
Philadelphia  during  the  Centennial  Exhibition ;  it  was 
given  by  Mr.  McMichael,  one  of  the  members  of  the 
club  and  a  great  friend  of  Elaine.  When  it  came  my 
turn  to  be  introduced,  the  host  whispered  a  few  words 
in  Mr.  Elaine's  ear,  just  enough  to  give  a  clue  as  to  my 
identity. 

"  I  very  much  doubt  if  Elaine  had  ever  heard  of  me 
until  that  moment,  as  I  have  no  connection  with  politics, 
but  he  grasped  my  hand  as  though  he  had  at  last  met 
the  man  for  whom  he  had  been  seeking,  lo  !  these  many 


128       ELAINE   AND    HIS   PERSONAL   CHARACTERISTICS. 

years.  Our  conversation  did  not  last  more  than  forty" 
seconds,  as  there  were  others  behind  me  waiting  to  be 
introduced,  and  I  didn't  wish  to  detain  the  procession, 
but  in  that  forty  seconds  he  impressed  me  more  than  I 
was  ever  impressed  in  my  life  before  or  since.  I  don't 
remember  a  word  that  was  said,  but  as  we  again  shook 
hands  and  I  moved  on,  I  felt  at  least  two  inches  taller 
than  before. 

"  That  man,"  I  said  to  myself,  "  has  known  all  about 
me  from  boyhood,  and  how  unfortunate  for  him  that  he 
has  been  kept  all  this  time  from  meeting  me  personally. 
But  his  life  will  be  happier  for  the  rest  of  it,  as  he  has 
had  a  chance  to  know  me.  I  regret  for  his  sake  that 
our  acquaintance  was  so  brief,  but  perhaps  we'll  have 
a  chance  to  renew  it." 

The  narrator  of  the  above  incident  was  no  novice  in 
being  introduced  to  strangers.  He  declares  implicit 
belief  in  Mr.  Elaine's  "magnetic"  qualities,  which  his 
friends  boast  of,  and  his  opponents  treat  with  the  cus 
tomary  ridicule  of  a  political  campaign. 

The  day  following  the  nomination,  the  Chicago  Tribune 
contained  the  following :  — 

"There  must  be  something  in  what  is  termed  the 
'magnetism'  of  Elaine.  Even  the  day  before  yesterday 
there  were  many  who  felt  that  he  would  get  the  nomi 
nation,  and  but  few  of  them  could  give  any  logical  rea 
son  for  their  conclusion.  They  knew  it  from  some 


ELAINE   AND    HIS   PERSONAL   CHARACTERISTICS.        129 

intangible,  indefinable  assertion  that  came  to  them  and 
made  its  meaning  known  through  some  subtle  sympathy. 
For  the  last  two  days  it  was  evident  that  the  great 
majority  of  the  vast  crowds  that  filled  the  auditorium 
of  the  hall  were  in  active  sympathy  with  the  Man  from 
Maine.  It  was  nothing  they  saw  or  heard  which  pro 
duced  this  condition ;  there  was  no  good  reason  why 
they  should  have  any  stronger  personal  regard  for  him 
than  for  any  other  of  the  aspirants.  Edmunds  is  a 
grand  character ;  Logan  is  the-  hero  of  many  a  battle 
field,  a  modern  Cid  with  all  the  chivalry,  bluffness,  and 
integrity  of  his  Spanish  ante-type.  Arthur  is  a  man 
who  is  loved  by  his  friends  and  respected  by  his  oppo 
nents,  and  there  is  in  his  life  all  the  characteristics  of 
the  honorable,  finished  gentleman.  Hawlcy's  eulogy 
was  not  overdrawn  in  the  elegant  presentation  of  his 
name  before  the  convention  by  Brandegee  of  his  own 
State.  In  no  essential  respect,  so  far  as  mere  appear 
ance  goes,  is  there  anything  more  in  Elaine  than  in  any 
of  the  others  whose  names  were  before  the  public.  And 
yet  the  thought  of  the  former  will  excite  a  sympathy, 
attract  an  admiration,  and  fascinate  one  in  a  manner 
which  is  at  once  unfathomable,  indefinable,  and  yet  as 
potent  as  gravity. 

u  The  greater  portion  of  the  enormous  mass  that 
gathered  in  the  hall  of  the  Exposition  Building  yester 
day  found  itself  pervaded  with  this  mysterious  iuflu- 


130        ELAINE   AND    HIS   PERSONAL   CHARACTERISTICS. 

ence.  Thousands  who  knew  Elaine  scarcely  more  than 
by  name  were  among  those  who  were  readiest  to  cheer 
when  his  name  was  mentioned,  and  to  hope  ardently 
for  his  success  at  every  step  of  the  tedious  march  of  the 
processes  of  the  convention. 

"  It  would  almost  seem  that  had  the  delegates  who  pre 
ferred  some  other  one  to  Elaine  been  even  more  numer 
ous  than  they  were,  they  would  have  been  forced  to  yield 
to  the  tremendous  influence  which  pervaded  the  human 
atoms  of  the  vast  body  of  the  people  which  dominated 
and  enveloped  them. 

"  The  flutter  of  the  units  compacted  in  the  building 
showed  the  existence  of  the  magnetic  forces  which  em 
anate  from  the  great  intellectual  dynamo-machine  in 
Maine.  At  no  moment  were  they  at  rest.  When  the 
name  of  Elaine  was  called  by  the  chairman  of  a  delega 
tion  as  he  gave  the  ballot  of  his  State  there  was  a  round 
of  cheers.  When  there  was  a  change  whereby  he  gained 
a  vote  there  was  an  inundation  of  enthusiastic  satisfac 
tion.  When  the  condition  of  the  balloting  showed  that 
his  nomination  was  reasonably  certain  the  whole  audience 
rose  to  their  feet,  and  shook  the  earth  with  applause,  and 
hid  themselves  behind  clouds  of  waving  handkerchiefs 
and  gaudy  banners.  When  he  was  finally  officially  an 
nounced  words  fail  to  express  the  intensity  and  extent  of 
the  mighty  outburst  of  enthusiasm. 

"  The  excess  of  sensibility  in  women  was  shown  in  the 
fact  that  they  were  constantly  stirred  by  the  pervading 


ELAINE   AND    HIS  PERSONAL   CHARACTERISTICS.        133 

influence.  They  were  the  galvanometers  of  the  occasion, 
and  reflected  constantly  and  accurately  the  direction  and 
strength  of  the  politico-magnetic  currents  which  pene 
trated  the  audience.  Hence  there  was  yesterday  an  ap 
peal  to  the  eye  in  the  gay  dresses  of  the  women,  their 
incessant  flutterings,  and  the  fleecy  clouds  of  white  which 
overspread  them  when  they  brought  out  their  handker 
chiefs  to  emphasize  their  satisfaction. 

"  The  city  was  aware  of  his  nomination  before  many 
thousands  had  read  a  sign  or  heard  a  word.  The  news 
broke  through  the  doors  of  the  convention  and  traveled 
through  the.  streets  with  the  swiftness  of  a  storm,  and 
with  mad  roar.  People  shouted  from  lofty  windows  and 
housetops,  while  hats,  canes,  umbrellas,  and  newspapers 
were  flung  in  the  air.  Horses  attached  to  vehicles  be 
came  frightened  and  fled  in  all  directions,  but  the  crowds 
blocked  the  way  and  subdued  them.  The  bells  of  a  dozen 
horse-cars  rang  within  earshot,  but  the  crowd  heeded  no 
such  warnings  until  the  excitement  was  past,  when  every 
body  seemed  to  have  grown  hoarse  without  knowing  that 
she  or  he  had  contributed  a  voice  to  the  general  uproar." 

"  Much  is  said  and  written,"  remarked  an  old  journal 
ist  to  a  New  York  Tribune  reporter,  who  was  reading 
some  personal  recollections  of  Republican  nominees, 
"  about  the  personal  magnetism  of  Elaine,  his  captivat 
ing  manners  and  his  wonderful  memory  of  names  and 
faces.  Logan  possesses  the  first-named  qualification  in 
a  marked  degree,  but  while  Elaine  attaches  individuals 


134       ELAINE   AND    HIS   PERSONAL   CHARACTERISTICS. 

to  him  as  with  hooks  of  steel,  Logan  enthuses  masses  of 
men.  I  have  lately  read  a  story  illustrative  of  Elaine's 
tenacious  memory,  in  which  he  is  reported  as  recalling 
by  name  an  old  farmer  whom  he  had  met  only  once  be 
fore,  four  years  previously,  and  whom  he  instantly  cap 
tivated  by  recalling  a  trivial  incident  of  their  first  meet 
ing  and  discussion  of  the  merits  of  a  young  colt  owned 
by  the  farmer.  I  have  such  an  illustration  of  the  man 
from  my  own  experience. 

"  In  1863 1  wrote  for  the  New  York  Herald  an  account, 
some  twelve  columns  long,  of  the  battle  of  Chickamauga. 
About  twenty  lines  of  the  entire  account  were  devoted  to 
the  narration  of  a  trifling  incident.  A  white  pigeon  or 
dove,  confused  by  the  smoke  of  the  last  desperate  com 
bat,  at  the  close  of  the  battle  in  which  George  H.  Thomas 
repulsed  Longstreet's  attack  on  his  right,  fluttered  awhile 
over  the  heads  of  Thomas,  Garfield,  Wood,  and  others, 
grouped  in  a  little  hollow  in  the  field  for  protection  from 
the  rebel  sharpshooters,  and  then  perched  on  the  limb  of 
a  dead  tree  just  above  them.  Here  it  sat  until  the  firing 
ceased,  and  then  flew  northward  unhurt.  It  was  a  pretty 
incident,  and  of  course  I  took  all  the  license  of  a  writer 
and  made  it  as  striking  a  passage  of  the  narrative  as  I 
could. 

"  In  1874,  eleven  years  later,  I  was  a  witness  before  a 
Congressional  committee,  and  while  in  the  capitol  one 
day  was  introduced  by  Zebulon  L.  White,  then  the  Tri 
bune's  Washington  correspondent,  now  editor  of  the  Pro- 


ELAINE   AND    HIS   PERSONAL   CHARACTERISTICS.        135 

vidence  Press,  to  Mr.  Elaine,  who  was  at  the  time  Speaker 
of  the  House.  If  I  remember  rightly  I  had  never  before 
seen  him,  and  I  supposed  he  had  never  heard  of  me. 
Imagine  my  astonishment  then  when  he  said  abruptly  on 
hearing  my  name  called  by  Mr.  White  :  i  You're  the  man 
I've  been  wanting  to  see  for  ten  years.'  Of  course  I  was 
immensely  flattered  by  such  a  notice. 

"  t  I've  been  wanting  to  know  if  you  were  telling  the 
truth  or  lying,'  Mr.  Elaine  added,  almost  without  pause. 
This  was  as  surprising  as  it  was  blunt.  He  took  my  arm 
and  drew  me  half-away  to  one  side  of  the  corridor.  <  Did 
you  write  for  the  Herald  an  account  of  Chickamauga  in 
which  a  white  dove  figured  rather  poetically  ? '  he  asked, 
and  then  went  on  to  recall  what  I  had  written.  '  Now/ 
he  continued,  'tell  me  was  that  a  true  incident  or  only 
done  to  make  the  story  readable  ?  '  I  assured  him  it  was 
true,  and  mentioned  that  General  Garfield,  who  was  in 
the  House,  would  probably  recall  it,  as  he  was  present. 
Nothing  more  of  interest  passed  between  us ;  but 
naturally  I  have  since  sworn  by  the  man  who  could  recall 
my  unknown  name  and  what  I  had  written  about  a  mere 
incident  occurring  ten  years  before.  He  was  so  earnest 
in  his  inquiry  that  I  have  never  doubted  that  his  curiosity 
in  the  matter,  small  as  the  incident  was,  was  genuine." 

The  Chicago  Herald  is  responsible  for  this  story  con 
cerning  a  youthful  prank  of  the  Presidential  candidate 
and  its  result ; 

"When  we  were  boys,"  said  Uncle  Totten,  "  down  on 


136        ELAINE   AND    HIS   PERSONAL   CHARACTERISTICS. 

Indian  Hill  farm,  Jim  Elaine  was  a  lively  chap.  He  kept 
the  whole  township  in  arms.  Once  I  got  even  with  him. 
I  was  down  in  the  meadow  pitching  hay.  He  knew  that 
I  was  going  to  do  that  job,  and  he  went  down  there  a  day 
or  two  before  and  fixed  one  of  the  haycocks  so  it  could 
not  be  lifted.  He  ran  a  long  wire  through  it  in  such  a 
way  as  to  hold  it  together,  and  then  fastened  it  under  the 
middle  of  the  stack  to  a  post  which  he  had  driven  in  the 
ground.  Some  of  the  other  boys  knew  about  the  game, 
and  they  stood  around  looking  kind  of  sneaking  and 
smiling  a  little.  I  tackled  the  doctored  stack  early  in 
the  day.  I  drove  my  fork  into  the  top,  and  spitting  on 
my  hands,  bore  down  upon  it.  It  didn't  budge.  I  tried 
it  once  more  with  a  little  extra  strength,  and  broke  the 
fork  clean  off  at  the  handle.  A  boy  sitting  on  a  rail 
fence  snickered,  and  I  knew  something  was  up.  A  mo 
ment's  examination  convinced  me  that  the  stack  was  tied 
down,  and  just  then  the  boy  who  had  laughed  pointed  in 
the  direction  of  another  stack  not  far  away.  I  felt  it  in 
my  bones  that  Jim  Elaine  was  hiding  there.  So  I 
crawled  up  kind  of  easy,  and  finding  him  watching  the  per 
formance  on  his  hands  and  knees,  with  some  of  the  grass 
thrown  over  him,  I  got  behind  him  and  raised  him  one 
with  my  boot.  I  was  mad,  and  I  put  a  good  deal  of  heft 
into  that  kick,  for  he  shot  out  of  the  stack  head  first,  as 
if  he  had  been  fired  from  a  cannon.  It  humped  him  up 
for  a  while,  I  tell  you,  and  there  was  a  lively  scattering 
among  the  rest  of  the  boys." 


CHAPTER   IX. 


ELAINE  AND  "THE  MULLIGAN  LETTERS." 

Charges  affecting  the  honesty  and  honor  of  Mr.  Elaine. — His 
answer  in  Congress. — Extract  from  his  speech,  delivered  June  5, 
1876.— Renewal  of  the  charges  in  1880  and  1884.— The  New  York 
Evening  Post. — Letter  of  William  Walter  Phelps. — An  intimate  friend 
of  Mr.  Elaine.— Land  grant  to  the  Little  Rock  &  Fort  Smith  Rail 
way.  —The  charge  in  full.— The  answer  thereto.— How  Mr.  Elaine 
obtained  his  interest  in  the  Company. — The  transaction  disastrous. — 
Pecuniary  loss  to  Mr.  Elaine.— His  letter  to  Fisher.— Charges  of 
misrepresentation  and  untruth. — The  answer  of  Mr.  Phelps. — The 
Mulligan  letters.— The  Union  Pacific  Railway.— Other  charges  and 
the  reply. — Mr.  Elaine's  private  fortune. 

When  Mr.  Elaine's  name  came  before  the  public  in 
1876  as  a  candidate  for  the  nomination  for  the  Presi 
dency  on  the  Republican  ticket,  charges  were  freely 
circulated  in  connection  with  a  transaction  in  railway 
bonds,  which  were  calculated  to  damage  his  reputation 
very  seriously.  They  were  first  printed  in  a  Democratic 
newspaper  in  Indiana,  and  thence  had  wide  circulation 
over  the  country.  Mr.  Elaine  met  them  by  a  prompt 
denial,  in  a  letter  to  the  press,  and  afterwards  in  a 

speech  in  Congress. 

(137) 


138  ELAINE   AND 

The  speech  was  delivered  on  the  5th  of  June,  1876. 
After  going  over  the  accusations  one  by  one,  Mr.  Elaine 
said: 

"  I  can  hardly  expect,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  any  statement 
from  me  will  stop  the  work  of  those  who  have  so  indus 
triously  circulated  these  calumnies.  For  months  past 
the  effort  has  been  energetic  and  continuous  to  spread 
these  stories  in  private  circles.  Emissaries  of  slander 
have  visited  editorial  rooms  of  leading  Republican  papers 
from  Boston  to  Omaha,  and  whispered  of  revelations  to 
come  that  were  too  terrible  even  to  be  spoken  in  loud 
tones,  and  at  last  the  revelations  have  been  made.  I  am 
now,  Mr.  Speaker,  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  a  not  inac 
tive  service  in  this  hall.  I  have  taken  and  have  given 
blows ;  I  have  no  doubt  said  many  things  in  the  heat 
of  debate  which  I  would  now  gladly  recall ;  I  have  no 
doubt  given  votes  which  in  fuller  light  I  would  gladly 
change ;  but  I  have  never  done  anything  in  my  public 
career  for  which  I  could  be  put  to  the  faintest  blush  in 
any  presence,  or  for  which  I  cannot  answer  to  my  con 
stituents,  my  conscience,  and  the  Great  Searcher  of 
Hearts." 

Nothing  affecting  the  personal  character  of  a  candi 
date  for  a  high  office  is  kept  out  of  sight  under  the 
present  system  of  conducting  political  campaigns,  and  it 
was  to  be  expected  that  "  the  Mulligan  Letter  Charges  " 
would  come  up  whenever  and  wherever  Mr.  Elaine's  name 


ELAINE   AND   "  THE   MULLIGAN   LETTERS."  139 

should  be  presented  for  the  Presidency  or  any  other 
office.  They  were  duly  aired  in  1880,  and  long  before 
the  meeting  of  the  National  Convention  of  1884  they 
were  brought  from  their  seclusion,  freshly  polished  and 
oiled,  and  made  ready  for  the  most  effective  use  it  was 
possible  to  give  them. 

Early  in  April  of  the  present  year  the  charges  reap 
peared  in  several  papers.  Among  the  prominent  journals 
to  give  them  currency-  was  the  New  York  Evening  Post, 
which  had  been  opposed  to  Mr.  Elaine's  nomination  and 
has  been  energetic,  since  the  Chicago  convention,  in  urg 
ing  his  defeat.  The  charges  in  the  Post  were  answered 
by  William  Walter  Phelps,  Member  of  Congress  from 
New  Jersey,  in  a  letter  published  in  the  New  York 
Tribune  on  the  27th  of  April.  As  Mr.  Phelps'  letter 
contains  a  summary  of  the  charges  together  with  his 
answer  thereto  it  is  here  presented  in  full : 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Evening  Post  : 

SIR  :  On  the  7th  inst.  you  made  formal  charges  against  James 
G.  Blaine.  They  are  the  same  which  were  made  eight  years  ago, 
and  which  were,  I  think,  at  that  time  satisfactorily  answered. 
Lest  others,  however,  may,  like  yourself,  have  forgotten  everything 
except  the  misstaternents,  you  must  permit  me  to  remind  you  of 
the  facts.  I  think  I  may  claim  some  qualifications  for  the  task. 
I  have  long  had  a  close  personal  intimacy  with  Mr.  Blaine,  and 
during  many  years  have  had  that  knowledge  and  care  of  his 
moneyed  interests  which  men  absorbed  in  public  affairs  are  not 
unapt  to  devolve  upon  friends  who  have  hud  financial  training  and 


140  ELAINE   AND   "  THE   MULLIGAN   LETTERS." 

experience.  I  do  not  see  how  one  naan  could  know  another  better 
than  I  know  Mr.  Blaine,  and  he  has  to-day  my  full  confidence  and 
warm  regard.  I  am  myself  somewhat  known  in  the  City  of  New 
York,  and  think  I  have  some  personal  rank  with  you  and  your 
readers.  Am  I  claiming  too  much  in  claiming  that  there  is  not 
one  among  you  who  would  regard  me  as  capable  of  an  attempt  to 
mislead  the  public  in  any  way  ?  With  this  personal  allusion,  par 
donable,  if  not  demanded,  under  the  circumstances,  I  proceed  to 
consider  your  charges. 

THE  LITTLE  HOCK  AND  FORT  SMITH  CHARGE. 

The  first  charge  is  really  the  one  upon  which  all  the  others  hinge. 
I  give  it  in  full,  and  in  your  own  language,  only  italicising  some 
of  your  words,  in  order  that  my  answer  may  be  the  clearer.  You 
say: 

In  the  spring  session  of  Congress  in  1869,  a  bill  was  before  the 
House  of  Representatives  which  sought  to  renew  a  land  grant  to 
the  Little  Rock  and  Fort  Smith  Railroad,  of  Arkansas,  in  which 
some  of  Mr.  Blame's  friends  were  interested; — that  an  attempt  to 
defeat  it  by  an  amendment  was  made,  and  its  promoters  were  in 
despair;  that  at  this  juncture  Mr.  Blaine,  being  then  Speaker  of 
the  House,  sent  a  message  to  General  Logan  to  make  the  point  of 
order  that  the  amendment  was  not  germane  to  the  purposes  of  the 
bill ;  that  this  point  of  order  was  accordingly  raised  and  promptly 
sustained  by  Mr.  Blaine  as  Speaker  and  the  bill  was  in  this  manner 
saved :  that  Mr.  Blaine  wrote  at  once  to  the  promoters  calling  attention 
to  the  service  he  had  rendered  them,  and  finally,  after  some  negotiations, 
secured  from  them,  as  a  reward,  for  it,  his  appointment  as  selling 
agent  of  the  bonds  of  the  road  on  commission  in  Maine,  and 
received  a  number  of  such  bonds  as  his  percentage;  that  the 
leading  feature  of  this  transaction  appeared  in  two  letters  of  his 
afterward  made  public,  dated  respectively  June  29  and  October  4, 
1869. 


ELAINE   AND    "THE   MULLIGAN   LETTERS."  141 

Your  error  is  in  the  facts.  Mr.  Elaine's  friends  were  not  con 
nected  with  the  Fort  Smith  and  Little  Rock  road  at  the  time  of 
the  passage  of  this  bill.  Those  to  whom  you  refer  as  his  friends 
were  Caldwell  and  Fisher.  The  bill  passed  in  April,  1869.  In 
April,  1869,  Mr.  Elaine  did  not  know  that  there  was  any  such  man 
as  Caldwell,  and  Fisher,  who  was  Mr.  Elaine's  friend,  did  not  know 
that  there  was  any  such  enterprise  as  the  Little  Rock  Railroad  in 
the  world.  The  evidence  of  these  assertions  was  before  Congress, 
was  uncontradicted,  and  is  within  your  reach.  On  the  29th  of 
June,  nearly  eighty  days  after  Congress  had  adjourned,  Mr.  Elaine 
from  his  home  in  Maine  wrote  to  Fisher  and  spoke  of  Fisher's 
'offer  to  admit  him  to  a  share  in  the  new  railroad  enterprise.' 
Fisher  had  introduced  the  subject  to  Mr.  Elaine  for  the  first  time  a 
week  before  at  the  great  musical  festival  in  Boston.  He  told  him. 
there  that  Mr.  Caldwell,  whom  Mr.  Elaine  had  not  yet  seen,  had 
now  obtained  control  of  the  enterprise  and  had  invited  Fisher  to 
join  him.  At  that  time  Fisher  was  a  sugar  refiner  of  considerable 
wealth  in  Boston,  had  been  a  partner  of  Mr.  Elaine's  brother-in- 
law,  and  through  him  had  made  Mr.  Elaine's  acquaintance.  The 
offer  Mr.  Elaine  refers  to  in  his  letter  was  Fisher's  offer  to  induce 
Caldwell,  if  he  could,  to  let  Mr.  Elaine  have  a  share  in  the  bed 
rock  of  the  enterprise.  Mr.  Fisher  failed  to  do  this,  and  Mr. 
Elaine  never  secured  any  interest  in  the  building  of  the  Fort  Smith 
and  Little  Rock  Railroad. 

What  interest,  then,  did  Mr.  Elaine  obtain?  An  interest  in  the 
securities  of  the  company.  How?  By  purchase,  on  the  same 
terms  as  they  were  sold  on  the  Boston  market  to  all  applicants ;  sold 
to  Josiah  Bardwell,  to  Elisha  Atkins,  and  to  other  reputable  mer 
chants.  He  negotiated  for  a  block  of  the  securities,  which  were 
divided  as  is  usual  in  such  enterprises  into  three  kinds,  first  mort 
gage  bonds,  second  mortgage  bonds,  and  stock.  The  price  I  think 


142 

was  three  for  one.  That  is,  the  purchaser  got  first  mortgage  bonds 
for  his  money,  and  an  equal  amount  of  second  mortgage  or  land 
grant  bonds  and  of  stock  thrown  in  as  the  basis  of  possible  profit. 
I  may  be  mistaken  as  to  the  price,  but  I  think  not.  I  went  myself 
at  this  time  into  several  adventures  of  the  kind  on  that  ratio,  and 
have  always  understood  that  Senator  Grimes  and  his  friends  got 
their  interests  in  the  Burlington  and  Missouri  road,  a  branch  of 
the  Union  Pacific,  on  the  same  basis  of  three  for  one.  It  was  the 
common  ratio  in  that  era  of  speculation.  Mr.  Elaine  conceived 
the  idea  that  he  might  retain  the  second  mortgage  bonds  as  profit 
and  sell  the  first  mortgage  bonds  with  the  stock  as  a  bonus.  He 
believed  the  first  mortgage  bonds  were  good,  and  lie  disposed  of 
them  to  his  neighbors  in  that  faith  and  with  the  determination  to 
shield  them  from  loss  in  case  of  disaster. 

Disaster  came.  The  enterprise,  like  so  many  others  of  the  kind, 
proved  a  disappointment,  and  the  bonds  depreciated.  Mr.  Elaine 
redeemed  them  all.  In  one  or  two  cases  only  had  he  given  a  guar 
antee.  In  none  other  was  there  any  legal  obligation,  but  he 
recognized  a  moral  claim  and  he  obeyed  it  to  his  own  pecuniary 
loss.  I  cannot  but  feel  that  the  purchasers  of  these  bonds  would 
have  fared  worse  had  they  been  compelled  to  look  to  many  of  those 
who  have  sought  to  give  an  odious  interpretation  to  Mr.  Elaine's 
honorable  conduct.  The  arrangement  for  the  purchase  of  the  block 
of  securities  was  made  in  June  or  July.  The  sales  of  the  first 
mortgage  bonds  out  of  the  block  were  continued  through  the 
months  of  July,  August,  and  September,  1869. 

The  transaction  was  nearly  closed,  when,  in  the  letter  of  October 
4th,  Mr.  Elaine  wrote  to  Fisher  and  told  him  the  parliamentary  story 
of  the  9th  of  April.  Mr.  Elaine  had  come  across  it  while  looking 
over  The  Congressional  Globe,  with  a  natural  curiosity  to  see  what 
had  been  his  decisions  during  the  first  six  weeks  of  his  Speakership, 


BLAINE   AND   "THE   MULLIGAN   LETTERS.'  143 

and  he  wrote  of  it  to  Fisher  as  an  item  in  the  legislative  history  of 
the  enterprise  into  which  they  had  both  subsequently  entered.  It 
concerned  a  bill  to  renew  a  land  grant,  made  long  before  the  war, 
to  the  Little  Rock  and  Fort  Smith  Railroad.  The  bill  had  passed 
the  Senate  without  opposition,  and  there  was  no  one  objecting  to 
it  in  the  House.  But  the  advocates  of  the  Memphis,  El  Paso,  and 
Pacific  Railway  bill  sought  to  attach  their  bill  to  it  as  an  amend 
ment.  This  El  Paso  bill  was  known  at  the  time  as  General  Fre 
mont's  scheme  and  had  been  urged  upon  Congress  before.  It  was 
unpopular  and  was  openly  opposed  by  General  Logan.  Wedded 
to  the  Little  Rock  bill  it  would  gain  strength,  but  the  Little  Rock 
bill  would  lose  strength,  and  a  just  measure,  universally  approved, 
would  be  killed  in  the  effort  to  pull  through  with  it  this  objectiona 
ble  measure  which  was  generally  disapproved. 

Mr.  Elaine's  letter  to  Fisher  will  tell  the  rest  of  the  story.  He 
wrote:  "  In  this  dilemma,  Roots,  the  Arkansas  member,  came  to 
me  to  know  what  on  earth  he  could  do  under  the  rules,  for  he  said 
it  was  vital  to  his  constituents  that  the  bill  should  pass.  I  told 
him  that  the  amendment  was  entirely  out  of  order  because  not 
germane,  but  he  had  not  sufficient  confidence  in  his  knowledge  of  the 
rules  to  make  the  point.  But  he  said  General  Logan  was  opposed 
to  the  Fremont  scheme,  and  would  probably  make  it.  I  sent  my 
page  to  General  Logan  with  the  suggestion,  and  he  at  once  made 
the  point.  I  could  not  do  otherwise  than  sustain  it,  and  so  the  bill 
was  freed  from  the  mischievous  amendment,  and  at  once  passed 
without  objection."  Mr.  Blaine  added  these  significant  words: 
"At  that  time  I  had  never  seen  Mr.  Caldwett,  ~but  you  can  tell  him  tJiat 
without  Imowing  it  I  did  him  a  great  favor.  ...  I  thought  the 
point  would  interest  both  you  and  Mr.  Caldwell,  tliough  occurring 
before  either  of  you  engaged  in  the  enterprise." 

This  seems,  Mr.  Editor,  to  dispose  of  your  first  charge.     The 


144  ELAINE   AND 

bill  was  a  just  one,  and  Mr.  Elaine's  friends  had  no  interest  in  it 
when  it  passed  the  House.  Eighty  days  after  the  House  adjourned, 
Mr.  Blaine  asked  his  friends,  who  had  in  the  meantime  taken  hold 
of  the  enterprise  and  offered  him  some  interest,  to  let  him  in  as  a 
partner.  They  refused.  They  did,  however,  sell  him  a  block  of 
securities  on  the  same  terms  they  sold  them  to  others,  and  it  proved 
an  unfortunate  purchase,  for  he  sold  them  out  among  his  friends, 
believing  them  valuable,  and  took  them  all  back  when  they  depre 
ciated  in  value.  The  letter  of  Mr.  Blaine  written  long  after  the 
transaction  is  his  complete  vindication.  To  give  it  a  semblance  of 
evil  you  assign  a  date  to  it  six  months  before  it  was  actually 
written.  The  late  Judge  Black,  after  an  investigation  of  the 
whole  subject,  declared  in  his  characteristic  style  that  "Mr. 
Elaine's  letters  proved  that  the  charge  (which  you  repeat  against 
him),  was  not  only  untrue  but  impossible,  and  would  continue  so 
to  prove  until  the  Gregorian  Calendar  could  be  turned  around  and 
October  made  to  precede  April  in  the  stately  procession  of  the 
year." 

A   CHARGE    OF   MISREPRESENTATION. 

Your  second  charge  consists  of  two  parts.  The  first  part  is  that 
Mr.  Blaine  wrongfully  asserted  that  "the  Little  Rock  &  Fort 
Smith  Road  derives  its  life  and  value  and  franchise  wholly  from 
the  State  of  Arkansas,  whereas  the  evidence  subsequently  taken 
discloses  the  fact  that  the  road  derived  the  value  on  which  these 
bonds  were  based  on  the  Act  of  Congress  of  which  Mr.  Blaine 
secured  the  passage."  It  will  be  found  that  you  have  inaccurately 
quoted  Mr.  Elaine's  language,  or  rather  that  you  put  language  into 
his  mouth  which  he  never  used.  What  Mr.  Blaine  did  say,  was: 
' '  The  railroad  company  derived  its  life,  value,  and  franchises  from 
the  State  of  Arkansas."  And  Mr.  Blaine  stated  the  precise  truth. 
What  are  the  facts?  More  than  thirty  years  ago  Congress  granted 


ELAINE   AND   "THE   MULLIGAN   LETTERS."  145 

to  the  States  of  Missouri  and  Arkansas  a  certain  quantity  of  public 
lands  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  certain  lines  of  railway.  The 
franchises  which  should  be  granted  to  the  companies  that  should 
build  the  road  were  expressly  left  by  Congress  to  the  Legislatures 
of  the  States.  Mr.  Elaine  spoke  therefore  with  absolute  precision 
of  language,  as  he  usually  does,  when  he  stated  that  "the  Little 
Rock  Company  derived  its  life,  value,  and  franchises  wholly  from 
the  State  of  Arkansas"  —  just  as  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad 
Company  derives  its  life,  value,  and  franchises  from  the  State  of 
Illinois,  though  enriched  by  a  land  grant  from  the  United  States, 
just  as  the  Little  Rock  Road  was. 

A   CHARGE   OF   UNTRUTH. 

The  second  part  of  your  second  charge  is  that  Mr.  Elaine  did  not 
speak  truthfully  when  he  asserted  that  he  "  bought  the  bonds  at 
precisely  the  same  rates  as  others  paid."  There  is  no  evidence  any 
where  to  sustain  this  accusation.  I  have  already  said  any  person 
could  negotiate  for  them  on  the  one-for-three  basis  just  as  Mr.  Elaine 
did,  and  many  availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity.  The  price 
paid  was  not  in  the  least  affected  by  the  fact  that  Mr.  Elaine  had 
already  arranged  to  sell  the  securities  at  a  higher  price  than  he 
paid  for  them.  He  did  this  with  the  determination,  honorably 
maintained,  that  he  would  make  good  any  loss  which  might  accrue 
to  the  purchasers.  These  sales  did  not  change  the  price  paid  to 
Fisher,  and  the  proof  that  it  did  not  is  found  in  the  fact  that  Mr. 
Elaine  paid  it  to  him  in  full.  You  speak  in  this  connection  of  Mr. 
Elaine's  being  appointed  an  agent  to  sell  the  bonds  of  the  com 
pany.  No  such  appointment  was  ever  made,  and  no  evidence 
suggests  it.  Mr.  Elaine  negotiated  for  his  securities  at  a  given 
price,  which  was  paid  in  full  to  Mr.  Fisher. 


146  ELAINE   AND   "THE   MULLIGAN   LETTERS." 

A   NORTHERN   PACIFIC    CHARGE. 

Your  third  formal  charge  relates  to  an  alleged  connection  of  Mr. 
Elaine  with  a  share  in  the  Northern  Pacific  enterprise.  You  charge 
this  in  the  face  of  the  fact  that  in  Mr.  Elaine's  letter  in  which  you 
find  the  subject  referred  to  was  his  distinct  asseveration  that  he 
"could  not  himself  touch  the  share."  Have  you  seen  any  evi 
dence  that  he  did?  I  have  not.  The  Northern  Pacific  Railroad 
Company  has  been  organized  and  reorganized,  and  recently  reor 
ganized  a  second  time.  Its  records  of  ownership  and  interest  have 
passed  under  the  official  inspection  of  at  least  a  hundred  men, 
many  of  whom  are  political  enemies,  and  some  of  whom  are  to  my 
knowledge  personal  enemies  of  Mr.  Elaine,  and  there  has  never 
been  a  suggestion  or  hint  from  any  of  these  that  in  any  form  what 
ever  Mr.  Elaine  had  the  remotest  interest  in  the  Northern  Pacific 
Company.  If  one  of  your  associates  has  such  evidence,  it  is  right 
that  he  should  produce 

THE    MULLIGAN   LETTERS. 

Your  fourth  charge  is  that  after  Mr.  Elaine  got  possession  of  the 
so-called  Mulligan  letters,  "he  subsequently  read  such  of  them  as 
he  pleased  to  the  House  in  aid  of  his  vindication.'"  The  answer 
is,  that  Mulligan's  memorandum  of  the  letters  in  which  he  had 
numbered  and  indexed  each  one  of  them  was  produced,  and 
number  and  index  correspond  exactly  with  the  letters  read.  This 
was  fully  demonstrated  on  the  floor  of  the  House,  and  is  a  part  of 
its  records. 

THE   UNION  PACIFIC. 

You  repeat  the  charge  that  Mr.  Elaine  received  a  certain  sum 
from  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company  for  seventy -five  bonds 
of  the  Little  Rock  Road.  You  say  this  without  a  particle  of 
proof.  You  say  it  against  the  sworn  denial  of  Thomas  A. 


147 

Scott,  who  was  the  party  alleged  to  have  made  the  negotiation. 
You  say  it  against  the  written  denial  of  Mr.  Sidney  Dillon,  presi 
dent  of  the  company ;  against  the  written  denial  of  E.  H.  Rollins, 
treasurer  of  the  company;  against  the  written  denial  of  Morton, 
Bliss  &  Co.,  through  whose  banking-house  the  transaction  wTas 
alleged  to  have  been  made.  Against  this  mountain  of  direct  and 
positive  testimony  from  every  one  who  could  by  any  possibility 
have  personal  knowledge  of  the  alleged  transaction,  you  oppose 
nothing  but  hearsay  and  suspicion  as  the  ground  of  a  serious  charge 
against  the  character  of  a  man  long  eminent  in  public  life.  The 
courtesy  which  admits  me  to  your  columns,  prevents  my  saying 
what  I  think  of  your  recklessness  in  this  matter. 

AS    SECRETARY    AND    CANDIDATE. 

Your  fifth  charge  arraigns  Mr.  Elaine's  policy  as  an  executive 
officer,  and  your  last  charge  is  that  of  his  packing  conventions  in 
his  favor.  I  do  not  desire  to  dwell  upon  either.  This  is  not  the 
place  to  review  his  foreign  policy  to  which  you  refer,  and  I  am 
content  to  remark  that  however  much  some  eastern  journals  may 
criticize  it,  it  is  popular  with  a  large  majority  of  the  American 
people.  It  is  simply  an  American  policy,  looking  to  the  extension 
of  our  commerce  among  the  nations  of  this  continent,  and  steadily 
refraining  from  European  complications  of  every  character.  The 
charge  of  packing  conventions  needs  no  answer.  This  is  the 
third  Presidential  campaign  in  which  Mr.  Elaine  has  been  unde 
niably  the  choice  of  a  large  portion  of  the  Republican  party.  In 
each  of  them  he  has  had  the  active  opposition  of  the  National  Ad 
ministration  with  the  use  of  its  patronage  against  him.  Mr.  Elaine 
has  control  of  no  patronage.  He  has  no  machine.  Machine  and 
patronage  have  been  persistently  against  him.  Whatever  promi 
nence  he  has  enjoyed  has  been  conferred  by  the  people.  He  has  no 


148 

means  not  open  to  every  citizen  of  influencing  public  opinion.  No 
campaign  in  his  favor  originated  elsewhere  than  among  the  people. 
He  has  never  sought  office.  He  never  held  a  position  to  which  he 
was  not  nominated  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  his  party.  He  has 
not  sought  the  Presidency.  Circumstances  made  him  a  candidate 
in  1876,  almost  before  he  was  aware  of  it.  In  1880,  he  did  not 
wish  to  enter  the  canvass.  I  was  one  of  a  small  party  of  intimate 
friends  who,  in  a  long  conference  in  February,  1880,  persuaded  him 
that  it  was  his  duty.  He  has  done  nothing  to  make  himself  a 
candidate  this  year.  He  has  asked  no  man's  support.  He  has 
written  no  letters,  held  no  conversation,  taken  no  steps  looking  to 
his  candidacy.  He  has  never  said  to  his  most  intimate  friends 
that  he  expected  or  desired  the  nomination. 

FALSE  AS  TO  ELAINE,  BUT  TRUE  AS  TO  EDMUNDS. 

If,  upon  a  review  of  the  whole  case,  you  should  charge  that  it 
would  have  been  better  and  wiser  for  Mr.  Elaine  to  have  refrained 
from  making  any  investment  in  a  railroad  that  had  directly  or 
indirectly  received  aid  from  the  legislation  of  Congress,  I  should 
be  ready  to  agree  with  you,  not  because  the  thing  was  necessarily 
wrong  in  itself,  but  because  it  is  easy  for  such  matters  to  be  so 
represented  as  to  appear  wrong.  But  why  should  Mr.  Elaine  be 
selected  for  special  reprobation  and  criticism  when  so  many  other 
Senators  and  Representatives  have  been  similarly  situated  ?  I 
know  of  my  own  knowledge  that  Governor  Morgan,  Mr.  .Samuel 
Hooper,  Senator  Grimes,  and  many  of  my  friends  while  in  Congress 
acquired  and  held  interests  in  such  enterprises,  and  neither  you,  nor 
I,  nor  the  people  suspected  the  transaction  to  be  wrong,  or  that  it 
gave  them  an  advantage  over  other  investors.  Why  entertain  and 
publish  that  suspicion  against  Mr.  Elaine  alone?  When  I  sat  as  a 
delegate-at-large  in  the  last  National  Convention,  Senator  Ed- 


149 

munds  and  Senator  Windom  were  both  candidates  for  the  Pres 
idency,  and  I  should  gladly  have  supported  either.  Senator 
Edmunds  was  understood  to  have  a  block  of  Burlington  &  Mis 
souri  securities,  and  Senator  Windom  had  not  only  a  block  in  the 
securities  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Company,  but  was  one  of  its 
directors.  Yet  you  find  no  fault  with  these  gentlemen.  Nor 
would  you  and  I  differ  in  giving  the  highest  rank  to  Senator 
Grimes,  but  both  he  and  Senator  Edmunds  acquired  their  interests 
in  the  Burlington  &  Missouri  Road  when  they  were  in  the  Senate. 
They  both  supported  the  bill  to  restore  the  land  grant  to  their 
road.  It  was  passed  on  the  same  day  with  the  Little  Rock  bill. 
Both  measures  were  just,  and  both  were  passed  in  the  House  and 
Senate  without  a  dissenting  vote.  Why  must  we  suspect  that  Mr. 
Blaine  had  a  secret  and  corrupt  motive,  and  that  other  membe.rs 
and  Senators  had  none? 

Let  me  add  a  circumstance  which  seems  to  me  to  be  not  only 
significant  but  conclusive  of  Mr.  Elaine's  conscious  innocence  in 
this  Fort  Smith  transaction.  He  voluntarily  made  "himself  a  party 
of  record  in  a  suit  against  the  Fort  Smith  &  Little  Rock  Railroad 
Company  in  the  United  States  Circuit  Court,  which  involved  the 
nature  and  source  of  his  ownership  in  the  property.  This  was 
before  he  was  named  for  the  Presidency.  If  he  had  obtained  this 
ownership  dishonorably,  would  he  have  courted  this  publicity? 

THE     * '  MILLIONAIRE  "     GABBLE. 

I  have  thus  ventured,  Mr.  Editor,  to  make  answer  to  the 
charges  you  have  brought  against  Mr.  Blaine.  There  are  other 
charges  equally  baseless  which  I  have  read,  but  in  other  papers,  so 
that  I  may  not  claim  your  space  to  deny  or  answer  them.  I  give 
two  examples.  Mr.  Blaine  is  represented  as  the  possessor  of 
millions,  while  I  personally  knew  that  he  was  never  the  possessor 


150 

of  the  half  of  one  million.  He  was  represented  as  living  in  the 
past  ten  years  in  palatial  grandeur  in  "Washington.  He  sold  that 
palatial  mansion  with  all  its  furniture  to  Mr.  Travers  for  $24,500, 
and  got  all  that  it  was  worth.  But  you  are  responsible  only  for 
such  charges  as  you  have  made,  and  I  have  therefore  made  answer 
to  them  authoritatively  over  my  own  name,  and  I  challenge  denial 
of  any  substantial  fact  I  have  stated.  Your  attacks  are  not  on 
Mr.  Blaine  alone,  they  are  on  his  friends  as  well,  and  these  are 
certainly  a  larger  and  more  devoted  body  of  supporters  that  can  be 
claimed  for  any  other  man  in  public  life.  It  seems  to  me  as  I 
recall  those  in  every  station  who  are  proud  to  be  numbered  among 
them,  that  I  recognize  many  of  the  ablest,  truest,  and  most  honor 
able  of  our  countrymen. 

I  am  respectfully  yours, 

WM.  WALTER  PHELPS. 
WASHINGTON,  April  23,  1884. 

The  Evening  Post  refused  to  be  convinced  by  the 
foregoing  explanation,  and  re-asserted  its  belief  in  the 
correctness  of  the  charges,  but  without  presenting  any 
documentary  evidence  to  sustain  them.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Chicago  Tribune  says  on  this  subject : 

"  We  are  convinced  that  no  candid  person  can  investi 
gate  without  prejudice  all  the  facts  connected  with  Mr. 
Elaine's  record  in  this  case,  without  coming  to  the  firm 
conclusion  that  it  was  in  all  respects  honorable  and 
proper,  and  creditable  to  him,  both  as  private  citizen  and 
a  public  man." 


CHAPTER    X. 


ELAINE  AS  A  HISTORIAN. 

Determination  to  Write  a  Book. — "Twenty  Years  in  Congress." 
— From  Lincoln  to  Garfield. —General  Appearance  of  the  Volume. 
— Character  of  the  Work. — Its  Literary  Qualities. — Events  which 
Followed  the  Revolution. — Compromises  in  the  Constitution  regard 
ing  Slavery. — Admission  of  Louisiana. — Organization  of  the  Aboli 
tion  Party. — Men  Prominent  in  the  Work. — Annexation  of  Texas. 
— The  Mexican  War. — The  Oregon  Question. — The  Kansas-Nebraska 
Struggle. — Election  of  Lincoln. — The  War  and  its  Events. — Action 
of  Great  Britain. — A  Reviewer's  Opinion. 

Mr.  Elaine  had  resigned  his  place  in  the  Senate  to 
become  Secretary  of  State,  under  President  Garfield. 
His  retirement  from  the  latter  position  three  months 
after  Garfield's  death  left  him  without  official  rank, 
and  he  determined  to  devote  his  time  to  a  history  of 
the  nation  since  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War.  He 
began  work  immediately  after  forming  his  plan  and 
collecting  his  materials,  and  the  first  volume  appeared 
in  April  of  the  present  year.  The  second  volume  is  in 
course  of  preparation,  and  is  expected  to  appear  early 
in  1885. 

7  (151) 


152  ELAINE   AS   A   HISTORIAN. 

The  book  is  entitled  "  Twenty  Years  in  Congress," 
and  the  first  volume  is  a  portly  octavo  of  646  pages. 
Its  illustrations  are  not  numerous,  comprising  altogether 
half  a  dozen  steel  plates ;  two  of  these  plates  are  devoted 
to  the  author  and  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  former  being 
the  frontispiece,  while  the  other  four  plates  have  each 
seven  vignette  portraits  of  men  prominent  in  the  history 
of  the  nation  during  the  last  thirty  years.  At  the 
end  is  a  map  showing  the  territorial  growth  of  the 
United  States,  and  accompanying  an  appendix  of  sta 
tistics  showing  the  development  of  the  country  in 
various  departments  of  industry.  The  statistics  indi 
cate  the  population  and  wealth  of  the  nation  in  each 
decade  since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  and  there 
are  tables  *bf  figures  showing  the  growth  of  the  public 
schools,  of  agriculture,  railways,  immigration,  the  con 
dition  of  army  and  navy,  foreign  commerce,  production 
of  coal  and  iron,  and  many  other  matters  interesting 
to  the  student  of  the  country's  history.  Evidently 
the  author  had  no  light  task  before  him,  and  gathered 
his  information  from  many  sources. 

The  book  is  much  more  than  its  title  indicates.  In 
stead  of  being  a  narrative  of  individual  experience  of 
two  decades  in  Congress,  as  one  might  be  led  to  expect, 
it  is  practically  a  history  of  the  country  and  people  from 
the  foundation  of  the  Republic.  It  is  an  account  of  the 
growth  and  changes  of  public  opinion  rather  than  a 


ELAINE   AS   A    HISTORIAN.  153 

narrative  of  events,  though  the  latter  are  by  no  menas 
wanting.  The  style  is  clear  and  direct,  but  marred 
here  and  there  by  sentences  which  the  writer  could 
have  polished  to  advantage ;  the  reader's  interest  is 
sustained  throughout,  though  there  is  no  attempt  at 
"  fine  writing  "  from  beginning  to  end  of  the  volume. 

The  book  opens  with  a  statement  of  the  compromises 
originally  made  between  the  North  and  South  on  the 
subject  of  slavery,  and  embodied  in  the  Constitution. 
The  author  explains  how  these  compromises  were 
necessary  for  the  formation  of  the  Union  after  the  old 
Articles  of  Confederation  had  consecrated  the  entire 
Northwest  to  freedom.  He  shows  the  early  dissatisfac 
tion  with  the  existing  boundaries,  and  gives  a  history 
of  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  from  France  by  President 
Jefferson,  together  with  the  events  in  this  country  and 
Europe,  which  led  up  to  it.  Louisiana  was  admitted 
to  the  Union  as  a  Slave  State  against  the  opposition 
of  the  North,  and  its  admission  was  among  the  first 
of  the  many  triumphs  of  the  slave-holding  interest 
over  the  sentiment  that  favored  universal  liberty. 

From  the  admission  of  Louisiana  the  slavery  question 
was  comparatively  quiet  until  the  application  of  Mis 
souri  for  a  place  in  the  Union  as  a  Slave  State.  Out 
of  this  grew  the  Missouri  Compromise,  as  we  have 
already  shown  in  the  early  chapters  of  this  volume, 
and  as  a  natural  consequence  out  of  it  grew  the  Aboli- 


154  ELAINE   AS   A    HISTORIAN. 

tion  party.  Mr.  Blaine  sketches  the  events  of  those 
years  in  their  regular  order,  and  his  work  is  by  no 
means  pleasant  reading  for  those  whose  energies  were 
devoted  to  the  perpetuation  of  the  right  of  man  to 
enslave  his  fellow  hy  reason  of  the  darkness  of  his  skin, 
and  the  advantages  of  unpaid  labor. 

Among  the  men  who  were  prominent  in  the  organiza 
tion  of  the  opposition  to  slavery,  the  author  mentions 
James  G.  Birney,  Benjamin  Lundy,  Arthur  Tappan, 
the  brothers  Lovejoy,  Gerrit  Smith,  John  G.  Whittier, 
William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Wendell  Phillips,  and  Gamaliel 
Bailey,  as  especially  worthy  to  be  held  in  remembrance 
for  the  mental  and  moral  abilities  which  they  devoted 
to  their  great  work.  To  this  list  he  adds  the  name  of 
Frederick  Douglass  who  was  born  a  slave,  and  was 
without  the  advantages  of  education,  but  "  exerted  a 
wide  and  beneficent  influence  upon  popular  opinion." 

"  In  the  early  days  of  this  agitation,"  says  the  author, 
"  the  abolitionists  were  a  proscribed  and  persecuted  class, 
denounced  with  unsparing  severity  by  both  the  great 
political  parties,  condemned  by  many  of  the  leading 
churches,  libeled  in  the  public  press,  and  maltreated  by 
furious  mobs.  In  no  part  of  the  country  did  they  con 
stitute  more  than  a  handful  of  the  population,  but  they 
worked  against  every  discouragement  with  a  zeal  and 
firmness  which  bespoke  intensity  of  moral  conviction. 
They  were  in  large  degree  recruited  from  the  Society  of 


ELAINE   AS   A    HISTORIAN.  155 

Friends,  who  brought  to  the  support  of  the  organization 
the  same  calm  and  consistent  courage  which  had  always 
distinguished  them  in  upholding  before  the  world  their 
peculiar  tenets  of  religious  faith.  Caring  nothing  for 
prejudice,  meeting  opprobrium  with  silence,  shaming  the 
authors  of  violence  by  meek  non-resistance,  relying  on 
moral  agencies  alone,  appealing  simply  to  the  reason  and 
the  conscience  of  men,  they  arrested  the  attention  of  the 
nation  by  arrainging  it  before  the  public  opinion  of  the 
world,  and  proclaiming  its  responsibility  to  the  judgment 
of  God." 

In  the  second  and  third  chapters  the  narrative  of  the 
events  previous  to  1860  is  continued.  The  history  of  the 
annexation  of  Texas  and  of  the  Mexican  war  is  given, 
and  the  relation  of  those  occurrences  to  the  slavery 
question  is  graphically  depicted.  The  growth  of  the 
opposition  to  slavery  is  indicated  by  the  figures  of  the 
votes  for  James  G.  Birney,  the  abolition  candidate  for 
tlie  Presidency  in  1840  and  1844.  In  the  former  year 
Mr.  Birney  received  a  total  of  6,745  votes  and  four  years 
later  58,879.  None  of  his  supporters  had  any  expecta 
tion  of  electing  him  to  the  Presidency,  and  their  votes 
were  cast  solely  as  a  protest  against  the  sympathy  which 
both  the  great  parties  of  the  day  were  displaying  with 
the  slave-holding  interest.  The  contest  was  between 
Henry  Clay,  the  nominee  of  the  Whigs,  and  James  K. 
Polk,  the  Democratic  candidate  ;  the  vote  of  New  York 


156  BLAINE   AS  A   HISTORIAN. 

determined  the  result  of  the  election,  and  Mr.  Clay  was 
defeated  in  consequence  of  the  Abolition  vote  leaving  a 
plurality  for  the  Democratic  electors.  Mr.  Elaine  thinks 
Mr.  Clay  owed  his  defeat  to  a  letter  in  which  he  favored 
the  annexation  of  Texas ;  it  was  written  to  conciliate  the 
Whigs  of  the  South  without  a  thought  as  to  its  effect 
upon  the  Whigs  of  the  north. 

The  Oregon  question  and  the  Congressional  and  diplo 
matic  discussions  concerning  it  are  carefully  sketched 
together  with  the  loss  to  the  country  in  the  action  of  the 
Democratic  party.  A  high  compliment  is  paid  to  Mr. 
Buchanan  for  his  able  treatment  of  the  case  in  his  cor 
respondence  with  the  British  Representative,  and  his 
adriotness  in  helping  his  party  out  of  a  difficult  position. 
The  irritation  of  Mr.  Polk  at  the  popularity  obtained  by 
Mr.  Buchanan  in  the  Oregon  discussion  is  piquantly  set 
forth,  together  with  the  affronts  which  he  repeatedly 
placed  upon  his  first  Cabinet  officer.  The  story  of  events 
is  continued  through  several  chapters  ;  the  views  of  both 
parties  on  all  important  occurrences  are  impartially  set 
forth  and  there  is  a  careful  summary  of  the  utterances 
of  men  of  note  who  were  in  Congress  in  the  period  of 
trouble  that  preceded  and  followed  the  repeal  of  the  Mis 
souri  Compromise. 

Chapter  V  deals  with  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Com 
promise,  and  administrations  of  Taylor  and  Fillmore, 
the  election  of  Pierce,  the  death  of  Calhoun,  Clay,  and 


ELAINE   AS   A    HISTORIAN.  157 

Webster,  and  closes  with  a  comparison  of  their  services 
and  public  characters.  Mr.  Elaine  says  that  while  Mr. 
Webster's  name  is  honorably  perpetuated  in  his  masterly 
discussion  of  great  political  principles  he  did  not  connect 
himself  with  a  single  historic  measure.  On  the  other 
hand  while  Mr.  Clay's  speeches  remain  unread  his  mem 
ory  is  identified  with  issues  that  are  still  vital  and  power 
ful.  Webster  argued  the  principle  while  Clay  embodied 
it  into  the  statute  ;  the  former  did  not  possess  the  quali 
ties  of  a  partisan  chief  while  the  latter  was  naturally 
and  inevitably  a  leader. 

Chapters  VI  and  VII  are  mainly  devoted  to  the  Kan 
sas-Nebraska  struggle  in  Congress  and  out  of  it.  The 
story  is  told  with  considerable  fullness  of  detail  in  spite 
of  the  necessary  restrictions  of  type  and  pages.  The 
debates  between  Lincoln  and  Douglas  are  summarized ; 
the  Dred-Scott  Decision  is  outlined  and  its  results  are 
indicated ;  the  destruction  of  the  Whig  party  and  the 
formation  of  the  Republican  party  are  described;  and 
one  after  another  the  great  occurrences  of  the  time  down 
to  the  raid  of  John  Brown  into  Virginia  are  delineated 
with  an  able  hand.  In  Chapter  VII  we  have  the  history 
of  the  various  conventions  of  1860,  the  excited  canvass 
for  the  Presidency,  and  finally  the  result  which  chose  for 
the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  country  a  President 
who  was  not  in  any  way  indebted  to  the  votes  of  the 
slave-holding  States  for  his  election.  At  the  close  of  this 


158  ELAINE   AS   A    HISTORIAN. 

chapter  the  author  sketches  the  history  of  the  relations 
of  England  to  the  slave-trade  and  quotes  from  the  royal 
order  of  George  III  before  the  Revolutionary  war  to  the 
Governor  of  the  colonies  "  not  to  assent  to  any  law  of 
the  Colonial  Legislature  by  which  the  importation  of 
slaves  should  in  any  respect  be  prohibited  or  interrupted." 
Mr.  Elaine  says  that  the  anti- slavery  feeling  in  England 
was  inspired  from  America  and  that  the  suppression  of 
the  slave-trade  by  the  British  Parliament  coincided  with 
its  limitations  by  the  Federal  Constitution. 

Chapter  IX  is  devoted  to  a  review  of  the  tariff  ques 
tion  with  special  reference  to  the  political  revolution  of 
1860.  The  history  of  the  tariff  discussions  from  the 
earliest  days  of  the  Republic  to  the  present  is  considered 
and  the  views  of  leading  statesmen  on  the  subject  are 
given  in  brief.  Chapter  X  may  be  regarded  as  really 
the  beginning  of  the  book,  the  whole  that  precedes  it 
being  merely  preliminary.  "  Twenty  years  of  Congress, 
— from  Lincoln  to  Garfield,"  is  what  we  read  on  the 
title-page ;  the  author  gives  us  no  formal  preface  but 
plunges  at  once  into  the  chronicle  of  events  immediately 
following  the  Revolution.  We  are  reminded  of  Col. 
Yule's  able  work  on  the  travels  of  Marco  Polo,  in  which 
one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  pages  are  devoted  to  an 
interesting  and  valuable  introduction.  Mr.  Elaine  gives 
us  two  hundred  and  fourteen  pages  of  text  in  his  nine 
chapters,  but  not  a  line  of  them  all  is  unnecessary.  A 


ELAINE   AS   A    HISTORIAN.  159 

knowledge  of  what  is  there  given  is  necessary  to  a  clear 
understanding  of  what  is  to  follow. 

In  chapter  X  the  author  tells  the  story  of  the  election 
of  1860,  the  beginning  of  secession,  the  action  of  South 
Carolina,  reluctance  of  other  southern  States,  the  meet 
ing  of  Congress  in  the  winter  following  the  election,  the 
position  of  President  Buchanan,  the  disloyalty  of  his 
cabinet  and  their  treacherous  conduct,  the  resignations 
of  the  principal  members  and  appointment  of  loyal  men 
in  their  place,  together  with  an  analysis  of  the  course  of 
Mr.  Buchanan  and  his  character.  In  chapters  XI  and 
XII  we  have  a  recital  of  the  many  dramatic  incidents  of 
the  winter  of  1860-61.  Chapter  XIII  begins  with  the 
story  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  journey  from  Springfield  to  Wash 
ington,  and  gives  the  account  of  his  inauguration  and  the 
state  of  public  feeling  North  and  South  at  that  time. 
Then  comes  the  outbreak  of  hostilities,  and  through  the 
twelve  succeeding  chapters  Mr.  Blaine  tells  us  of  each 
step  in  the  progress  of  the  war  down  to  its  termination 
in  the  spring  of  1865.  The  cost  of  the  conflict  is  com 
pared  with  the  wars  of  other  nations,  and  the  Union  and 
Confederate  armies  are  contrasted  with  the  military 
establishments  of  foreign  countries. 

Concerning  the  Confederate  army  Mr.  Blaine  says : — 

"  It  would  be  but  poor  compliment  to  the  soldiers  of 

the  Union  to  withhold   just  recognition  of   the   brave 

opponents  who  met  them  on  so  many  hard-fought  fields. 

7* 


160  ELAINE   AS   A    HISTORIAN. 

Nor  is  there  any  disposition  among  loyal  men  to  stint 
the  praise  which  is  always  due  to  courage.  Never  per 
haps  was  an  army  organized  with  fighting  qualities 
superior  to  those  of  the  army  put  into  the  field  by  the 
Confederacy.  They  fought  with  an  absolute  conviction, 
however  erroneous,  that  their  cause  was  just ;  and  their 
arms  were  nerved  by  the  feeling  which  their  leaders  had 
instilled  deeply  into  their  minds,  that  they  were  contend 
ing  against  an  intolerable  tyranny  and  protecting  the 
sacredness  of  home.  In  a  war  purely  defensive,  as  was 
that  of  the  Confederacy,  an  army  such  as  they  raised 
and  maintained  can  baffle  the  efforts  of  vastly  superior 
numbers.  The  Confederates  found  from  their  own  expe 
rience  how  changed  was  the  task  when  they  assumed  the 
offensive  and  ventured  to  leave  their  own  territory,  with 
their  perfect  knowledge  of  its  topography  and  with  a 
surrounding  population  of  sympathizers-  and  helpers.  In 
their  first  attempt  at  invasion  they  did  not  get  beyond 
cannon-sound  of  the  Potomac,  and  in  the  second  they 
were  turned  back  by  the  result  of  the  first  battle.  These 
facts  do  not  impeach  the  prowess  of  the  Confederate 
soldiery,  but  they  illustrate  the  task  imposed  on  the 
army  of  the  Union  and  they  suggest  the  vast  difference 
in  the  responsibilities  which  the  invading  and  the  defen 
sive  forces  were  called  upon  to  meet." 

The  closing  chapter  of  the  book  is  occupied  with  a 
review   of   the   conduct   of    Great   Britain   toward   the 


ELAINE   AS   A    HISTORIAN.  161 

United  States  during  the  civil  war.  Mr.  Elaine  describes 
the  indecent  haste  which  was  shown  by  the  British 
Government  in  granting  belligerent  rights  to  the  Con 
federacy  while  the  American  minister  was  on  his  way  to 
England,  and  when  it  was  well  known  to  Her  Majesty's 
ministers  that  he  came  with  instructions  to  explain  fully 
the  relations  of  the  Federal  Government  to  the  States 
and  to  ask  that  foreign  powers  would  abstain  from  any 
act  of  pretended  neutrality  which  would  give  material 
advantage  or  moral  encouragement  to  the  organized 
forces  of  the  Rebellion.  "  On  the  day  before  Mr.  Adams's 
arrival  in  England,  as  if  to  give  him  offensive  warning 
how  little  his  representations  would  be  regarded,  Her 
Majesty's  Government  issued  a  proclamation  recognizing 
the  confederated  Southern  States  as  belligerents."  Com 
menting  on  this  action  of  what  we  were  once  pleased  to 
call  "  Our  Mother  Country,"  the  author  quotes  from  Mr. 
Seward: — "It  is  indeed  manifest  in  the  tone  of  the 
speeches,  as  well  as  in  the  general  tenor  of  popular  dis 
cussion,  that  neither  the  responsible  ministers  nor  the 
House  of  Commons,  nor  the  active  portion  of  the  people 
of  Great  Britain,  sympathize  with  this  Government,  and 
hope,  or  even  wish,  for  its  success  in  suppressing  the 
insurrection ;  and  that  on  the  contrary  the  whole  British 
nation,  speaking  practically,  desire  arid  expect  the  dis 
memberment  of  the  Republic." 

Mr.  Blaine  pays  a  just  tribute  to  the  Queen  for  her 


162  ELAINE   AS   A    HISTORIAN. 

friendliness  to  us  during  our  troubles,  and  says  that  on 
all  occasions  for  bitterness  towards  England  by  reason 
of  the  treatment  we  received  during  the  war,  there  was 
an  instinctive  feeling  among  Americans  that  Queen  Vic 
toria  desired  peace  and  good-will,  and  did  not  sympa 
thize  with  the  insidious  efforts  at  our  destruction  which 
had  their  origin  in  her  dominions. 

To  show  how  near  we  were  to  actual  hostilities  with 
Great  Britain  during  the  latter  part  of  the  civil  war,  Mr. 
Elaine  quotes  from  Mr.  Seward's  letter  to  Lord  Palmers- 
ton  in  1863,  when  he  said  : 

"  If  the  law  of  Great  Britain  must  be  left  without 
amendment,  and  be  construed  by  the  government  in  con 
formity  with  the  rulings  of  the  Chief  Baron  of  the  Ex 
chequer  in  the  Alexandra  case,  then  there  will  be  left  for 
the  United  States  no  alternative  but  to  protect  them 
selves  and  their  commerce  against  armed  cruisers  pro 
ceeding  from  British  ports  as  against  the  naval  forces 
of  a  public  enemy.  *  *  *  British  ports,  domestic  as 
well  as  colonial,  are  now  open  under  certain  restrictions 
to  the  visits  of  piratical  vessels,  and  not  only  furnish 
them  coals,  provisions,  and  repairs,  but  even  receive  their 
prisoners  when  the  enemies  of  the  United  States  come 
in  to  obtain  such  relief  from  voyages  in  which  they  have 
either  burned  ships  they  have  captured,  or  have  even 
manned  and  armed  them  as  pirates  and  sent  them  abroad 
us  auxiliaries  in  the  work  of  destruction.  Can  it  be  an 


ELAINE   AS    A    HISTORIAN.  163 

occasion  for  either  surprise  or  complaint  that  if  this  con 
dition  of  things  is  to  remain  and  receive  the  deliberate 
sanction  of  the  British  Government,  the  navy  of  the 
United  States  will  receive  instructions  to  pursue  these 
enemies  into  the  ports  which,  thus,  in  violation  of  the  law 
of  nations,  and  the  obligations  of  neutrality  become  har 
bors  for  the  pirates  ?  The  President  very  distinctly  per 
ceives  the  risks  and  hazards  which  a  naval  conflict  thus 
maintained  will  bring  to  the  commerce  and  even  to  the 
peace  of  the  two  countries.  But  he  is  obliged  to  con 
sider  that  in  the  case  supposed,  the  destruction  of  our 
commerce  will  probably  amount  to  a  naval  war,  waged  by  a 
portion,  at  least,  of  the  British  Nation  against  the  govern 
ment  and  people  of  the  United  States — a  war  tolerated 
although  not  declared  or  avowed  by  the  British  Govern 
ment.  If  through  the  necessary  employment  of  all  our 
means  of  national  defense  such  a  partial  Avar  shall  become 
a  general  one  between  the  two  nations,  the  President 
thinks  that  the  responsibility  for  that  painful  result  will 
not  fall  upon  the  United  States." 


CHAPTER  XL 


ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOE  THE  PRESIDENCY. 

Efforts  of  his  friends  in  1876. — Eloquent  speech  of  Col.  Ingersoll. 
— The  needs  of  the  Republican  party. — The  characteristics  demanded 
for  its  leader.— "The  Plumed  Knight."— The  Convention  of  1880. 
— Votes  for  the  contending  candidates. — Garfield  nominated  on  the 
thirty-sixth  ballot. — Senator  Frye  presents  the  name  of  Elaine. — The 
Convention  of  1884.— Public  interest  in  the  proceedings. — Judge 
West  of  Ohio  places  Elaine  before  the  Convention. — An  eloquent 
address.-— Demands  of  the  party  to-day. — The  people's  Representa 
tive.  —The  progress  of  the  ballots. — Elaine  nominated  on  the  fourth 
ballot. — The  nomination  made  unanimous. 

There  is  a  homely  old  proverb  which  says,  "  the  third 
time  never  fails."  Its  possible  truth  is  illustrated  in  the 
nomination  of  Mr.  Elaine  for  the  Presidency  after  two 
unsuccessful  efforts  of  his  friends  in  preceding  conven 
tions.  At  Cincinnati  in  1876  his  name  was  presented, 
and  through  several  ballots  his  supporters  were  confident 
of  success.  But  on  the  seventh  ballot  the  opposition  to 
Elaine  was  concentrated  on  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  and 
that  gentleman  speedily  became  the  unanimous  choice  of 
the  convention.  Mr.  Elaine  was  one  of  the  first  to  send 

(164) 


ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY.      167 

a  congratulatory  telegram  to  the  successful  candidate, 
with  the  assurances  of  his  earnest  support  during  the 
campaign. 

The  name  of  Mr.  Elaine  was  presented  to  the  conven 
tion  by  Col.  R.  G.  Ingersoll  of  Illinois.  It  had  been  ex 
pected  that  the  speech  of  that  gentleman  would  be  an 
eloquent  appeal  in  behalf  of  his  candidate,  but  proved  to 
be  far  more.  It  was  a  burst  of  oratory  not  often  heard 
in  convention  halls,  and  was  frequently  interrupted  by 
long-continued  applause.  At  its  close  there  was  a  scene 
of  the  wildest  excitement,  and  for  several  minutes  the 
building  was  fairly  shaken  with  the  plaudits  of  the  vast 
assemblage. 

After  a  hearty  commendation  of  Mr.  Bristow,  the  prin 
cipal  opponent  of  Mr.  Elaine,  Col.  Ingersoll  said : — 

"  The  Republicans  of  the  United  States  demand  as 
their  leader,  in  the  great  contest  of  1876,  a  man  of  intel 
ligence,  a  man  of  integrity,  a  man  of  well-known  and  ap 
proved  political  principles.  They  demand  a  reformer 
after  as  well  as  before  the  election.  They  demand  a  poli 
tician  in  the  highest,  broadest,  and  best  sense — a  man  of 
superb  moral  courage.  They  demand  a  man  acquainted 
with  public  affairs,  with  the  wants  of  the  people  ;  with 
not  only  the  requirements  of  the  hour,  but  with  the  de 
mands  of  the  future. 

"  They  demand  a  man  broad  enough  to  comprehend  the 
relations  of  this  government  to  the  other  nations  of  the 


168      ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY. 

earth.  They  demand  a  man  well  versed  in  the  powers, 
duties,  and  prerogatives  of  each  and  every  department 
of  this  government.  They  demand  a  man  who  will 
sacredly  preserve  the  financial  honor  of  the  United 
States  ;  one  who  knows  enough  to  know  that  the  national 
debt  must  be  paid  through  the  prosperity  of  this  people ; 
one  who  knows  enough  to  know  that  all  the  financial 
theories  in  the  world  cannot  redeem  a  single  dollar  ;  one 
who  knows  enough  to  know  that  all  the  money  must  be 
made,  not  by  law,  but  by  labor  ;  one  who  knows  enough 
that  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  the  industry  to 
make  money,  and  the  honor  to  pay  it  over  just  as  fast  as 
they  make  it. 

"  The  Republicans  of  the  United  States  demand  a  man 
who  knows  that  prosperity  and  resumption,  when  they 
come  must  come  together ;  that  when  they  come,  they 
will  come  hand  in  hand  through  the  harvest  fields  ;  hand 
in  hand  by  the  whirling  spindles  and  the  turning  wheels ; 
hand  in  hand  past  the  open  furnace  doors ;  hand  in  hand 
by  the  flaming  forges ;  hand  in  hand  by  the  chimneys 
filled  with  eager  fire — greeted  and  grasped  by  the  count 
less  sons  of  toil.  This  money  has  to  be  dug  out  of  the 
earth.  You  cannot  make  it  by  passing  resolutions  in  a 
political  convention.  The  Republicans  of  the  United 
States  want  a  man  who  knows  that  this  government 
should  protect  every  citizen,  at  home  and  abroad ;  who 
knows  that  any  government  that  will  not  defend  its 


1G9 

defenders,  and  protect  its  protectors,  is  a  disgrace  to  the 
map  of  the  world.  They  demand  a  man  who  believes  in 
the  eternal  separation  and  divorcement  of  church  and 
school.  They  demand  a  man  whose  political  reputation 
is  spotless  as  a  star;  but  they  do  not  demand  that  their 
candidate  shall  have  a  certificate  of  moral  character 
signed  by  a  Confederate  Congress.  The  man  who  has, 
in  full,  heaped  and  rounded  measure  all  these  splendid 
qualifications,  is  the  present  grand  and  gallant  leader  of 
the  Republican  party — James  G.  Elaine. 

"  Our  country,  crowned  with  the  vast  and  marvelous 
achievements  of  its  first  century,  asks  for  a  man  worthy 
of  the  past  and  prophetic  of  her  future ;  asks  for  a  man 
who  has  the  audacity  of  genius  ;  asks  for  a  man  who  is 
the  grandest  combination  of  heart,  conscience,  and  brain 
beneath  the  flag.  That  man  is  James  G-.  Elaine.  For 
the  Republican  host  led  by  this  intrepid  man  there  can 
be  no  such  thing  as  defeat.  This  is  a  grand  year — a  year 
filled  with  the  recollection  of  the  revolution ;  filled  with 
proud  and  tender  memories  of  the  sacred  past;  filled 
with  the  legends  of  liberty — a  year  in  which  the  sons  of 
freedom  will  drink  from  the  fountain  of  enthusiasm ;  a 
year  in  which  the  people  call  for  a  man  who  has  pre 
served  in  Congress  what  our  soldiers  won  upon  the  field  ; 
a  year  in  which  we  call  for  the  man  who  has  torn  from 
the  throat  of  treason  the  tongue  of  slander ;  a  man  that 
has  snatched  the  mask  of  Democracy  from  the  hideous 


170      ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY. 

face  of  Rebellion;  a  man  who,  like  an  intellectual 
athlete,  stood  in  the  arena  of  debate,  challenged  all 
comers,  and  who  up  to  the  present  moment  is  a  total 
stranger  to  defeat. 

"  Like  an  armed  warrier,  like  a  plumed  knight,  James 
G.  Elaine  marched  down  the  halls  of  the  American  Con 
gress,  and  threw  his  shining  lance  full  and  fair  against 
the  brazen  forehead  of  every  defamer  of  this  country 
and  maligner  of  its  honor.  For  the  Republican  party  to 
desert  that  gallant  man  now  is  as  though  an  army 
should  desert  their  General  upon  the  field  of  battle. 
James  G.  Elaine  is  now  and  has  been  for  years  the  bearer 
of  the  sacred  standard  of  the  Republic.  I  call  it  sacred 
because  no  human  being  can  stand  beneath  its  folds 
without  becoming  and  without  remaining  free. 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  convention,  in  the  name  of  the  great 
Republic,  the  only  Republic  that  ever  existed  upon  this 
earth ;  in  the  name  of  all  her  defenders  and  of  all  her 
supporters  ;  in  the  name  of  all  her  soldiers  living,  in  the 
name  of  all  her  soldiers  that  have  died  upon  the  field  of 
battle,  and  in  the  name  of  those  that  perished  in  the 
skeleton  clutches  of  famine  at  Andersonville  and 
Libby,  whose  suffering  he  so  eloquently  remembers, 
Illinois  nominates  for  the  next  President  of  this  country 
that  prince  of  parliamentarians,  that  leader  of  leaders, 
James  G.  Elaine." 

To  Col.  Ingersoll  is  due  the  credit  of  bestowing  upon 


ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY.      171 

Mr.  Elaine  the  appellation  of  "The  Plumed  Knight," 
which  will  be  found  in  the  foregoing  speech. 

The  National  Republican  Convention  of  1880  met  at 
Chicago,  on  Wednesday,  June  2d.  On  Thursday  the  per 
manent  organization  was  completed,  and  on  Friday  the 
contested  seats  were  considered.  On  Saturday  General 
Garfield  reported  the  rules,  the  platform  was  adopted, 
and  in  the  evening  the  candidates  for  the  nomination  for 
President  were  presented.  On  Monday  twenty-eight  bal 
lots  were  taken  without  a  choice,  and  on  Tuesday  General 
Garfield  was  nominated  on  the  eighth  ballot  of  that  day, 
or  the  thirty-sixth  ballot  of  the  Convention.  On  the  first 
ballot  Grant  received  304,  and  Elaine  284  votes,  with  93 
for  Sherman,  31  for  Washburne,  34  for  Edmunds,  and 
10  for  Windom.  Elaine  fell  off  to  280  on  the  sixth  bal 
lot,  recovering  to  285  on  the  thirteenth,  fell  off  to  279, 
276,  276,  and  275  on  the  nineteenth  to  twentieth  ballots 
inclusive,  went  up  to  281  on  the  twenty-fifth,  and  on  the 
last  five  ballots  had  270,  276,  275,  57,  and  42.  Garfield 
received  one  vote  on  the  second  ballot,  and  did  not  get 
more  than  two  until  the  thirty-fourth.  Then  he  got  17, 
which  grew  to  250  on  the  thirty-fifth  ballot,  and  he  was 
nominated  on  the  thirty-sixth  by  a  vote  of  399.  Imme 
diately  thereafter  the  nomination  was  declared  unani 
mous. 

The  name  of  Mr.  Elaine  was  presented  on  this  occasion 
by  Senator  Frye  of  Maine,  who  spoke  briefly,  bat  elo 
quently,  as  follows : 


172      ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY. 

"  I  once  saw  a  storm-  at  sea  in  the  night-time  ;  an  old 
ship  battling  for  its  life  with  the  fury  of  the  tempest ; 
darkness  everywhere  ;  the  winds  raging  and  howling ; 
the  huge  waves  beating  on  the  sides  of  the  ship,  and 
making  her  shiver  from  stem  to  stern.  The  lightning 
was  flashing,  the  thunders  rolling;  there  was  danger 
everywhere.  I  saw  at  the  helm  a  bold,  courageous, 
immovable  commanding  man.  In  the  tempest,  calm ;  in 
the  commotion,  quiet;  in  the  danger,  hopeful.  I  saw 
him  take  that  old  ship  and  bring  her  into  her  harbor, 
into  still  waters,  into  safety.  That  man  was  a  hero. 

"  I  saw  the  good  old  Ship  of  State,  the  State  of  Maine, 
within  the  last  year,  fighting  her  way  through  the  same 
waves,  against  the  dangers.  She  was  freighted  with  all 
that  is  precious  in  the  principles  of  our  Republic ;  with 
the  rights  of  the  American  citizenship,  with  all  that  is 
guaranteed  to  the  American  citizen  by  our  Constitution. 
The  eyes  of  the  whole  nation  were  on  her,  and  intense 
anxiety  filled  every  American  heart,  lest  the  grand  old 
ship,  the  "State  of  Maine,"  might  go  down  beneath  the 
waves  forever,  carrying  her  precious  freight  with  her. 
But  there  was  a  man  at  the  helm,  calm,  deliberate,  com 
manding,  sagacious ;  he  made  even  the  foolish  man  wise  ; 
courageous,  he  inspired  the  timid  with  courage  ;  hopeful, 
he  gave  heart  to  the  dismayed,  and  he  brought  that  good 
old  ship  safely  into  harbor,  with  safety ;  and  she  floats 
to-day  "greater,  purer,  stronger  for  her  baptism  of  danger. 


ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOE  THE  PRESIDENCY.       173 

That  man,  too,  was  heroic,  and  his  name  was  James  G. 
Elaine. 

"  Maine  sent  us  to  this  magnificent  convention  with  a 
memory  of  her  own  salvation  from  the  impending  peril 
fresh  upon  her.  To  you,  representatives  of  50,000,000 
of  the  American  people,  who  have  met  here  to  counsel 
how  the  Republic  can  be  saved,  she  says  :  '  Representa 
tives  of  the  people,  take  the  man,  the  true  man,  the 
staunch  man,  for  your  leader,  who  has  just  saved  me, 
and  he  will  bring  you  to  safety  and  certain  victory.' ': 

The  Republican  National  Convention  of  1884  was  held 
in  Chicago,  and  opened  on  the  3d  of  June.  At  the  hour  of 
noon  on  that  day  the  immense  hall  was  packed  to  its 
utmost  capacity,  and  thousands  of  people  were  vainly 
seeking  admission.  All  sorts  of  predictions  had  been 
made  as  to  the  result,  and  thousands  of  men  were  able 
to  demonstrate  to  a  mathematical  certainty  the  impossi 
bility  of  nominating  Elaine,  Arthur,  Edmunds,  Logan,  or 
any  one  else  whose  name  had  been  mentioned  as  a  possi 
ble  candidate.  It  was  conceded  that  Mr.  Elaine  would 
lead  on  the  first  ballot,  but  the  friends  of  the  other  can 
didates  claimed  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  "The 
Plumed  Knight "  to  obtain  the  votes  of  a  majority  of 
the  delegates. 

The  details  of  the  proceedings  are  too  fresh  in  the 
minds  of  every  reader  to  need  more  than  the  briefest 
repetition  here.  John  R.  Lynch  was  elected  temporary 


174      ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY. 

chairman  of  the  Convention,  and  Senator  Henderson  was 
chosen  to  preside  over  the  permanent  portion  of  its 
deliberations.  On  Wednesday  various  resolutions  were 
offered  and  referred  to  the  appropriate  committees ; 
the  Committee  on  Resolutions  made  a  preliminary  report 
and  several  members  indulged  in  speeches  in  which  all 
sorts  of  views  were  freely  expressed.  On  Thursday  the 
Committee  on  Credentials  settled  the  vexed  question  of 
contested  seats  with  less  friction  than  is  usual,  and  the 
rules  were  amended  so  that  delegates  to  future  conven 
tions  are  to  be  chosen  in  each  Congressional  District  in 
the  same  way  that  such  district  nominates  its  member  of 
Congress.  The  convention  adopted,  without  opposition,  a 
platform  which  is  considered  one  of  the  most  out-spoken 
that  has  been  presented  by  any  party  since  the  days  of 
the  war. 

The  evening  of  Thursday  was  devoted  to  placing  the 
names  of  candidates  before  the  convention.  The  roll  of 
the  States  was  called  in  their  order,  beginning  with  Ala 
bama,  which  had  no  candidate  to  offer.  When  Connec 
ticut  was  reached,  Mr.  Brandegee  of  that  State  made  an 
eloquent  appeal  in  behalf  of  General  Hawley.  The  next 
State  to  be  heard  from  was  Illinois,  which  spoke,  through 
Senator  Cullom,  in  behalf  of  General  Logan.  Maine 
was  next  heard  from  through  Judge  West  of  Ohio,  who 
placed  in  nomination  the  name  of  James  G.  Elaine.  It 
was  followed  by  New  York,  for  whom  Mr.  Townsend 


ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY.      175 

named  President  Arthur,  and  the  roll  was  completed  by 
Vermont  for  whom  Senator  Edmunds  was  presented. 

The  name  of  every  candidate  was  received  with  great 
enthusiasm  by  his  friends  and  also  by  a  considerable  part 
of  the  convention  that  deemed  it  a  proper  mark  of 
respect  to  cheer  everybody.  When  Maine  was  called 
there  was  a  storm  of  applause.  Hats  and  handkerchiefs 
were  waved,  some  of  the  delegates  stood  upon  chairs  and 
shouted  with  all  the  vigor  of  which  their  lungs  were 
capable,  and  several  enthusiastic  spectators  opened  their 
umbrellas  for  lack  of  other  materials  for  making  a  demon 
stration.  The  band  struck  up  but  its  music  was  drowned 
by  the  shouts  of  the  multitude,  and  to  an  indifferent  spec 
tator  there  was  good  ground  for  the  inference  that  the 
convention  had  forgotten  for  the  moment  all  the  rules  of 
decorum. 

The  cheering  lasted  fully  a  quarter  of  an  hour  and 
then  gradually  subsided.  When  quiet  was  restored  the 
chairman  introduced  Judge  West  of  Ohio,  and  immedi 
ately  there  was  a  hush  of  silence  through  the  vast  hall. 
Every  delegate  and  every  spectator  of  the  proceedings 
was  intent  on  catching  the  words  of  the  speaker,  and  the 
change  from  the  excitement  that  preceded  his  introduc 
tion  was  most  observable,  and  the  address  was  interrupted 
only  by  cheers  and  applause  when  the  names  of  the  can 
didates  were  mentioned,  or  whenever  telling  points  were 
made. 


176      ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY. 

Judge  West  spoke  as  follows  : 

"  As  a  delegate  in  the  Chicago  Convention  of  I860,  the 
proudest  service  of  my  life  was  performed  by  voting  for 
the  nomination  of  that  inspired  emancipator,  the  first 
Republican  President  of  the  United  States.  Four  and 
twenty  years  of  the  grandest  history  of  recorded  times 
has  distinguished  the  ascendency  of  the  Republican  party. 
The  skies  have  lowered  and  reverses  have  threatened,  but 
our  flag  is  still  there,  waving  above  the  mansion  of  the 
Presidency,  not  a  stain  on  its  folds,  not  a  cloud  on  its 
glory.  Whether  it  shall  maintain  that  grand  ascendency 
depends  upon  the  action  of  this  council. 

With  bated  breath  a  nation  awaits  the  result.  On  it 
are  fixed  the  eyes  of  twenty  millions  of  Republican  free 
men  in  the  North.  On  it,  or  to  it,  rather,  are  stretched 
forth  the  imploring  hands  of  ten  millions  of  political 
bondmen  of  the  South,  while  above,  from  the  portals  of 
light,  is  looking  down  the  immortal  spirit  of  the  immor 
tal  martyr  who  first  bore  it  to  victory,  bidding  to  us  Hail 
and  God  speed. 

Six  times  in  six  campaigns  has  that  banner  triumphed 
— that  symbol  of  union,  freedom,  humanity,  and  progress — 
sometime  borne  by  that  silent  man  of  destiny,  the  Well 
ington  of  American  arms,  last  by  him  at  whose  untimely 
taking  off  a  nation  swelled  the  funeral  cries  and  wept 
above  great  Garfield's  grave.  Shall  that  banner  triumph 
again  ? 


ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY.      177 

"  Commit  it  to  the  bearing  of  that  chief,  the  inspira 
tion  of  whose  illustrious  character  and  great  name  will 
fire  the  hearts  of  our  young  men,  stir  the  blood  of  our 
manhood  and  rekindle  the  fervor  of  the  veterans,  and 
the  closing  of  the  seventh  campaign  will  see  that  holy 
ensign  spanning  the  sky  like  a  bow  of  promise.  Politi 
cal  conditions  are  changed  since  the  accession  of  the 
Republican  party  to  power. 

The  mighty  issue  of  the  freedom  and  bleeding  human 
ity  which  convulsed  the  continent  and  aroused  the  Repub 
lic,  rallied,  united,  and  inspired  the  forces  of  patriotism 
and  the  forces  of  humanity  in  one  consolidated  phalanx, 
have  ceased  their  contentions.  The  subordinate  issues 
resulting  therefrom  are  settled,  and  buried  away  with  the 
dead  issues  of  the  past.  The  arms  of  the  solid  South 
are  against  us.  Not  an  electoral  gain  can  be  expected 
from  that  section.  If  triumph  come,  the  Republican 
States  of  the  North  must  furnish  the  conquering  battal 
ions  from  the  farm,  the  anvil,  and  the  loom,  from  the 
mines,  the  workshop,  and  the  desk,  from  the  hut  of  the 
trapper  on  the  snowy  Sierras,  from  the  hut  of  the  fisher 
man  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  The  Republican 
States  must  furnish  these  conquering  battalions  if  triumph 
come. 

"  Does  not  sound  political  wisdom  dictate  and  demand 
that  a  leader  shall  be  given  to  them  whom  our  people 
will  follow,  not  as  conscripts  advancing  by  funeral 

8 


178      ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY. 

marches  to  certain  defeat,  but  a  grand  civic  hero,  whom 
the  souls  of  the  people  desire,  and  whom  they  will  fol 
low  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  volunteers,  as  they  sweep 
on  and  onward  to  certain  victory.  A  representative  of 
American  manhood,  a  representative  of  that  living 
Republicanism  that  demands  the  ampliest  industrial  pro 
tection  and  opportunity  whereby  labor  shall  be  enabled 
to  earn  and  eat  the  bread  of  independent  employment, 
relieved  of  mendicant  competition  with  pauper  Europe 
or  pagan  China?  In  this  contention  of  forces  to  whose 
candidate  shall  be  intrusted  our  battle-flag  ? 

"  Citizens,  I  am  not  here  to  do  it,  and  may  my  tongue 
cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth  if  I  do  abate  one  tithe 
from  the  just  fame,  integrity,  and  public  honor  of  Ches 
ter  A.  Arthur,  our  President.  I  abate  not  one  tithe 
from  the  just  fame  and  public  integrity  of  George  E. 
Edmunds,  of  Joseph  R.  Hawley,  of  John  Sherman,  of 
that  grand  old  black  eagle  of  Illinois.  And  I  am  proud 
to  know  that  these  distinguished  Senators  whom  I  have 
named,  have  borne  like  testimony  to  the  public  life, 
the  public  character,  and  public  integrity  of  him  whose 
confirmation  brought  him  to  the  highest  office — second 
in  dignity  to  the  office  of  the  President  only  himself — 
the  first  premiership  in  the  administration  of  James  A. 
Garfield.  A  man  for  whom  the  Senators  and  rivals  will 
vote,  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  is  good 
enough  for  a  plain  flesh  and  blood  God's  people  to  vote 
for  President. 


ELAINE'S  NOMINATION   FOR   THE  PRESIDENCY.         179 

"  Who  shall  bo  our  candidate  ?  Not  the  representa 
tive  of  a  particular  interest  of  a  particular  class.  Send 
the  great  proclamation  to  the  country  labeled  'The 
Doctor's  Candidate,'  'The  Lawyer's  Candidate,'  'The 
Wall  Street  Candidate,'  and  the  hand  of  resurrection 
would  not  fathom  his  November  grave. 

"  Gentlemen,  he  must  be  a  representative  of  that 
Republicanism  that  demands  the  absolute  political,  as 
well  as  personal,  emancipation  and  enfranchisement  of 
mankind  —  a  representative  of  that  Republicanism  which 
recognizes  the  stamp  of  American  citizenship  as  the 
passport  to  every  right,  privilege,  and  consideration  at 
home  or  abroad,  whether  under  the  sky  of  Bismarck, 
under  the  Palmetto,  under  the  Pelican,  or  on  the  banks 
of  the  Mohawk ;  that  Republicanism  that  regards  with 
dissatisfaction  a  despotism,  which  under  the  '  sic  semper 
tyrannis'  of  the  Old  Dominion  emulates,  by  slaughter, 
popular  majorities  in  the  name  of  Democracy —  a  Repub 
licanism  as  embodied  and  stated  in  the  platform  of 
principles  this  day  adopted  by  your  convention. 

"Gentlemen,  such  a  representative  Republican  is 
James  G.  Elaine  of  Maine.  If  nominated  to-night,  his 
campaign  would  commence  to-morrow  and  continue 
until  victory  is  assured.  There  would  b.e  no  powder 
burned  to  fire  into  the  backs  of  his  leaders.  It  would 
only  be  exploded  to  illumine  the  inauguration.  The 
brazen  throats  of  the  cannon  in.  yonder  square,  waiting 


180      ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY. 

to  herald  the  result  of  the  convention,  would  not  have 
time  to  cool  before  his  name  would  be  caught  up  on  ten 
thousand  tongues  of  electric  flame. 

"  Gentlemen  of  the  convention,  it  has  been  urged  that 
in  making  this  nomination,  every  other  consideration 
should  merge,  every  other  interest  be  sacrificed,  in 
order  and  with  a  view,  exclusively,  to  secure  the 
Republican  vote  and  carry  the  State  of  New  York. 
Gentlemen,  the  Republican  party  demands  of  this  con 
vention  a  nominee  whose  inspiration  and  glorious  pres 
tige  shall  carry  the  presidency  with  or  without  the  State 
of  New  York  ;  that  will  carry  the  legislatures  of  the  sev 
eral  States,  and  avert  the  sacrifice  of  the  United  States 
Senate  ;  that  shall  sweep  into  the  tide  the  congressional 
districts  to  recover  the  House  of  Representatives,  and 
restore  it  to  the  Republican  party.  *  Three  millions  of 
Republicans  believe  that  that  man  who,  from  the  bap 
tism  of  blood  on  the  plains  of  Kansas,  to  the  fall  of 
the  immortal  Garfield,  in  all  that  struggle  of  humanity 
and  progress  wherever  humanity  desires  succor,  where 
love  for  freedom  called  for  protection,  wherever  country 
called  for  a  defender,  wherever  blows  fell  thickest  and 
fastest,  there  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle  was  seen  to 
wave  the  white  plume  of  James  G.  Elaine,  our  Henry  of 
Navarre.  Nominate  him,  and  the  shouts  of  September 
victory  in  Maine  will  be  re-echoed  back  by  the  thunders 
of  the  October  victory  in  Ohio.  Nominate  him,  and  the 


ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY.       181 

camp-fires  and  beacon-lights  will  illuminate  the  con 
tinent  from  the  Golden  Gate  to  Cleopatra's  needle. 
Nominate  him,  and  the  millions  who  are  now  in  waiting 
will  rally  to  swell  the  column  of  victory  that  is  sweep 
ing  on.  In  the  name  of  a  majority  of  the  delegates  from 
the  Republican  States,  and  of  our  glorious  constituencies 
who  must  fight  this  battle,  I  nominate  James  G.  Elaine 
of  Maine." 

After  the  candidates  had  been  named  the  convention 
adjourned,  and  the  weary  members  retired  to  prepare 
for  the  battle  of  the  morrow — the  battle  of  the  nomina 
tion. 

On  Friday,  the  convention  proceeded  with  very  little 
delay  to  the  taking  of  the  ballots.  The  roll  of  the  States 
was  called,  and  the  work  of  balloting  proceeded  slowly, 
in  consequence  of  frequent  interruptions  to  take  the 
poll  of  the  delegates  in  different  States.  The  final 
result  was  as  follows : 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  .....     818 

Necessary  to  a  choice, 410 

For  James  G.  Elaine  of  Maine,      ....     334£ 
Chester  A.  Arthur  of  New  York,     .         .         .278 
George  F.  Edmunds  of  Vermont,     ...       93 
John  A.  Logan  of  Illinois,       ....       63£ 

John  Sherman  of  Ohio, 30 

Joseph  R.  Hawley  of  Connecticut,  .  .  .13 
Robert  T.  Lincoln  of  Illinois,  ...  4 
William  T.  Sherman  of  Missouri,  .  2 


182      ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY. 

There  being  no  choice,  a  second  ballot  was  taken 
immediately.  When  the  result  showed  gains  for  Elaine, 
the  adherents  of  that  gentleman  were  not  able  (even  if 
they  made  an  effort  to  do  so),  to  refrain  from  loud  and 
prolonged  rejoicing.  This  was  the  ballot : 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast, 818 

Necessary  to  a  choice, 410 

For  James  G.  Elaine  of  Maine,      .         .         .         .349 

Chester  A.  Arthur  of  New  York,    .         .         .276 
George  F.  Edmunds  of  Vermont,    ...       85 
John  A.  Logan  of  Illinois,       ....       61 

John  Sherman  of  Ohio,    .         ...         .         .28 

Joseph  R.  Hawley  of  Connecticut,   .         ,         .       13 
Robert  T.  Lincoln  of  Illinois,    ....         4 

William  T.  Sherman  of  Missouri,    ...         2 

The  excitement  increased  at  the  indication  of  greater 
gains  for  Elaine  as  the  vote  progressed.  Michigan  and 
Nebraska  were  loudly  cheered,  and  then  the  uproar 
became  so  great  that  the  sergeant-at-arms  was  directed 
to  require  delegates  to  keep  their  seats.  The  third 
ballot  was  at  length  announced: 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  .....  819 

Necessary  to  a  choice, 410 

For  James  G.  Elaine  of  Maine,       ....  375 
Chester  A.  Arthur  of  New  York,     .         .         .274 

George  F.  Edmunds  of  Vermont,    ...  69 

John  A.  Logan  of  Illinois,       ....  53 

John  Sherman  of  Ohio, 25 


183 

Joseph  R.  Ilawley  of  Connecticut,  .  .  .13 
Robert  T.  Lincoln  of  Illinois,  ....  8 
William  T.  Sherman  of  Missouri,  ...  2 

The  confusion  increased,  and  the  chairman  was  power 
less  to  preserve  order.  A  dozen  delegates  were  on  their 
feet  at  once  ;  a  motion  to  adjourn  was  made  and  lost,  the 
friends  of  Elaine  voting  against  it.  Then  the  conven 
tion  proceeded  to  the  fourth  and  final  ballot. 

When  Illinois  was  called  the  chairman  of  the  delega 
tion  from  that  State  announced  that  he  wished  to  read  a 
telegram  which  had  just  been  received.  Objections  were 
made,  and  the  missive  was  sent  to  the  chairman's  desk 
where  it  remained  until  the  ballot  was  completed.  The 

telegram  was  as  follows : 

WASHINGTON,  D.C. 
Hon.  8.  M.  Gullom  of  the  Illinois  Delegation  : 

The  Republicans  of  the  States  that  must  be  relied  upon  to  elect 
the  President,  having  so  strongly  shown  a  preference  for  Mr. 
Elaine,  I  deem  it  my  duty  not  to  stand  in  the  way  of  the  people's 
choice.  I  recommend  my  friends  to  assist  in  the  nomination. 

JOHN  A.  LOGAN. 

In  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  "  Black  Jack,"  the 
vote  of  Illinois  was  changed  from  Logan  to  Elaine,  and 
decided  the  contest.  Through  the  rest  of  the  call  there 
was  no  question  of  the  result : 

Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  .  813 

Necessary  to  a  choice,     - 407 

For  James  G.  Elaine  of  Maine,        .         .         .         .541 
Chester  A.  Arthur  of  New  York,     .  207 


184 

George  F.  Edmunds  of  Vermont,    .         .  41 

John  A.  Logan  of  Illinois,       ....  7 

Joseph  R.  Hawley  of  Connecticut,           .         .  15 

Robert  T.  Lincoln  of  Illinois,           ...  2 

The  announcement  of  the  result  of  the  fourth  ballot 
was  received  with  a  whirlwind  of  applause.  Every  per 
son  in  the  audience — delegates  and  visitors — rose  to  their 
feet  simultaneously  and,  all  being  Elaine  men  now, 
shouted  and  sang  their  delight  at  the  success  of  the  man 
from  Maine.  It  took  nearly  thirty  minutes  to  get  to  busi 
ness.  The  chairman  then  asked  if  the  nomination  should 
be  made  unanimous.  Mr.  Burleigh  of  New  York,  one 
of  the  supporters  of  President  Arthur,  took  the  platform 
and  said : 

"  In  behalf  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
at  his  request,  I  move  to  make  the  nomination  of  James 
G.  Elaine  of  Maine,  unanimous,  and  I  promise  for  the 
friends  of  President  Arthur,  who  are  always  loyal  at  the 
polls,  and  for  northern  New  York,  20,000  Republican 
majority ;  and  I  promise  you  all  that  we  will  do  all  we 
can  for  the  ticket  and  for  the  nominee,  and  will  show  you 
in  November  next  that  New  York  is  a  Republican  State. 
It  elected  James  A.  Garfield,  and  it  will  elect  James  G. 
Elaine  of  Maine." 

Mr.  Sabin  of  Minnesota,  said : 

"  Four  years  ago,  in  this  very  hall,  and  as  a  delegate  to 
the  National  Republican  Convention,  I  was  opposed  to 


STREET    SCENE    IX    CHICAGO    ON    THE    NIGHT     AFTER     THE 
NOMINATIONS    WERE    MADE. 


ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY.      187 

Chester  A.  Artlier  and  to  the  elements  with  which  he 
then  associated.  Since  then  he  has  been  called,  under 
the  most  trying  circumstances,  to  fill  the  first  place  in 
the  gift  of  the  people  of  this  country.  So  well,  so 
nobly,  so  faithfully  has  he  fulfilled  that  trust,  and  so  hap 
pily  has  he  disappointed  not  only  those  of  his  opponents 
but  his  friends,  so  fully  has  he  filled  the  position  of  the 
scholar  and  the  gentleman,  that  he  is  possessed  of  that 
great,  good  common  sense  which  has  made  his  adminis 
tration  a  great  and  pronounced  success,  that  he  has 
grown  upon  me  until  to-day  I  honor  and  revere  Chester 
A.  Arthur.  As  a  friend  of  his,  I  no  less  honor  and  re 
vere  that  prince  of  gentlemen,  that  scholar,  that  gifted 
statesman,  James  G.  Elaine,  whose  nomination  it  affords 
me- the  greatest  pleasure  to  second,  with  the  prediction 
that  his  name  before  this  country  in  November  will  pro 
duce  that  same  spontaneous  enthusiasm  which  will  make 
him  President  of  the  United  States  on  the  4th  of  March 
next." 

Mr.  Plumb  of  Kansas,  said  : 

"  This  convention  has  discharged  two  of  its  most  im 
portant  trusts  and  is  now,  notwithstanding  the  length  of 
time  it  has  been  in  session  and  the  exciting  scenes 
through  which  it  has  passed,  in  thorough  good  humor, 
and  I  believe  we  are  ready  to  go  on  and  conclude  the 
business  which  brought  us  all  here.  I  move  that  the 

8* 


188      ELAINE'S  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY. 

nomination  be  made  unanimous,  and  I  hope  there  will 
not  be  a  dissenting  voice  in  all  this  vast  assemblage." 
The  chairman  then  read  the  following  dispatch : 

The  President  has  sent  the  following  dispatch  to  Mr.  Elaine : 
"  As  the  candidate  of  the  Republican  party,  you  will  have  my 
earnest  and  cordial  support." 

The  nomination  was  then  made  unanimous,  and  the 
convention  adjourned  until  evening.  The  great  work  was 
over,  and  James  G.  Elaine  was  declared  the  Republican 
standard-bearer  for  the  Convention  of  1884. 


CHAPTER    XII. 


THE   REPUBLICAN  PLATFORM.      MR.  ELAINE'S 
OFFICIAL   NOTIFICATION. 

The  Platform  of  1884. — Much  Discussed  in  the  Committee.— 
Adopted  without  Opposition.— A  Stiff  Plank  on  the  Tariff.— Declar 
ation  of  Principles. — In  Memory  of  Garfield. — President  Arthur 
Commended. — Duties  of  the  Government  to  the  People. — Arraign 
ing  the  Democracy. — Pledges  of  the  Republicans. — Importance  of 
Sheep-Husbandry. — International  Money  Standards. — International 
and  Inter-State  Commerce. — Regulation  of  Railways. — National 
Bureau  of  Labor. — Eight-Hour  Law. — Civil  Service  Reform. — 
Opposition  to  Polygamy. — Denunciation  of  Southern  Outrages. — 
Official  Notification  of  Mr.  Elaine. — Address  of  the  Chairman  of 
the  Committee. — Mr.  Elaine's  Reply. — The  Group  on  the  Lawn. 

The  platform  of  the  Republican  Convention  of  1884 
caused  much  discussion  in  the  Committee  on  Resolu 
tions,  but  was  adopted  by  the  Convention  without  oppo 
sition.  Some  of  the  members  of  the  committee  desired 
to  dodge  the  question  of  the  tariff,  and  indulge  in  mean 
ingless  platitudes  concerning  it ;  but  their  opinions  did 
not  prevail,  as  the  majority  of  the  committee  believed 
in  a  positive  statement  of  principles,  from  which  there 
could  be  no  escape.  In  this  respect,  the  platform  is 

(189) 


190      THE  PLATFORM. — ELAINE'S  OFFICIAL  NOTIFICATION. 

more  pronounced  than  that  of  any  previous  convention 
since  the  days  of  Lincoln,  and  the  memorable  array  of 
principles  which  gave  him  the  Presidency. 

The  following  is  the  platform  as  offered  by  the  com 
mittee  and  adopted  in  the  Convention  : 

"  The  Republicans  of  the  United  States,  in  National 
Convention  assembled,  renew  their  allegiance  to  the 
principles  upon  which  they  have  triumphed  in  six  suc 
cessive  Presidential  elections,  and  congratulate  the 
American  people  on  the  attainment  of  so  many  results 
in  legislation  and  administration  by  which  the  Repub 
lican  party  has,  after  saving  the  Union,  done  so  much 
to  render  its  institutions  just,  equal,  and  beneficent,  the 
safeguard  of  liberty,  and  the  embodiment  of  the  best 
thought  and  highest  purposes  of  our  citizens. 

"  The  Republican  party  has  gained  its  strength  by 
quick  and  faithful  response  to  the  demands  of  the 
people  for  freedom  and  equality  of  all  men ;  for  a  united 
nation,  assuring  the  rights  of  all  citizens;  for  the  ele 
vation  of  labor ;  for  an  honest  currency ;  for  purity  in 
legislation;  and  for  integrity  and  accountability  in  all 
departments  of  the  government.  And  it  accepts  anew 
the  duty  of  leading  in  the  work  of  progress  and  reform. 

"  We  lament  the  death  of  President  Garfield,  whose 
sound  statesmanship,  long  conspicuous  in  Congress,  gave 
promise  of  a  strong  and  successful  adminstration,  a  prom 
ise  fully  realized  during  the  short  period  of  his  office  as 


THE   PLATFORM. — ELAINE'S   OFFICIAL   NOTIFICATION.      191 

President  of  the  United  States.  His  distinguished  ser- 
vices  in  war  and  peace  have  endeared  him  to  the  hearts 
of  the  American  people.  In  the  administration  of  Presi 
dent  Arthur  we  recognize  a  wise,  conservative,  and 
patriotic  policy,  under  which  the  country  has  been  blessed 
with  remarkable  prosperity ;  and  we  believe  his  eminent 
services  are  entitled  to  and  will  receive  the  hearty 
approval  of  every  citizen. 

"  It  is  the  first  duty  of  a  good  government  to  protect 
the  rights  and  promote  the  interests  of  its  own  people. 
The  largest  diversity  of  industry  is  the  most  productive 
of  general  prosperity,  and  of  the  comfort  and  independ 
ence  of  the  people.  We  therefore  demand  that  the 
imposition  of  duties  on  foreign  imports  shall  be  made, 
not  for  revenue  only,  but  that  in  raising  the  requisite 
revenues  for  the  government  such  duty  shall  be  so  levied 
as  to  afford  security  to  our  diversified  industries  and  pro 
tection  to  the  rights  and  wages  of  the  laborer,  to  the  end 
that  active  and  intelligent  labor,  as  well  as  capital,  may 
have  its  just  reward,  and  the  laboring  man  his  full  share 
in  the  National  prosperity.  Against  the  so-called 
economic  system  of  the  Democratic  party,  which  would 
degrade  our  labor  to  the  foreign  standard,  we  enter  our 
most  earnest  protest.  The  Democratic  party  has  failed 
completely  to  relieve  the  people  of  the  burden  of 
unnecessary  taxation  by  a  wise  reduction  of  the  surplus. 
The  Republican  party  pledges  itself  to  correct  the  irreg- 


192      THE   PLATFORM. — ELAINE*  S   OFFICIAL   NOTIFICATION. 

ularities  of  the  tariff  and  to  reduce  the  surplus,  not  by 
the  vicious  and  indiscriminating  process  of  horizontal 
reduction,  but  by  such  methods  as  will  relieve  the  tax 
payer  without  injuring  the  laborer  or  the  great  product 
ive  interests  of  the  country. 

"  We  recognize  the  importance  of  sheep-husbandry  in 
the  United  States,  the  serious  depression  which  it  is  now 
experiencing,  and  the  danger  threatening  its  future  pros 
perity  ;  and  we,  therefore,  respect  the  demands  of  the 
representatives  of  this  important  agricultural  interest  for 
a  readjustment  of  duties  upon  foreign  wool  in  order  that 
such  industry  shall  have  full  and  adequate  protection. 

"  We  have  always  recommended  the  best  money  known 
to  the  civilized  world,  and  we  urge  that  efforts  should  be 
made  to  unite  all  commercial  nations  in  the  establishment 
of  an  international  standard  which  shall  fix  for  all  the 
relative  value  of  gold  and  silver  coinage. 

"  The  regulation  of  commerce  with  foreign  nations  and 
between  the  States  is  one  of  the  most  important  prerog 
atives  of  the  general  government,  and  the  Republican 
party  distinctly  announces  its  purpose  to  support  such 
legislation  as  will  fully  and  efficiently  carry  out  the  con 
stitutional  power  of  Congress  over  inter-State  commerce. 

"  The  principle  of  the  public  regulation  of  railway 
corporations  is  a  wise  and  salutary  one  for  the  protection 
of  all  classes  of  the  people,  and  we  favor  legislation  that 
shall  prevent  unjust  discrimination  and  excessive  charges 


THE   PLATFORM. — ELAINE'S   OFFICIAL   NOTIFICATION.      193 

for  transportation,  and  that  shall  secure  to  the  people 
and  the  railways  alike  the  fair  and  equal  protection  of 
the  laws. 

"  We  favor  the  establishment  of  a  National  Bureau  of 
Labor;  the  enforcement  of  the  Eight-hour  law;  a  wise 
and  judicious  system  of  general  education  by  adequate 
appropriation  from  the  national  revenues  wherever  the 
same  is  needed.  We  believe  that  everywhere  the  protec 
tion  of  a  citizen  of  American  birth  must  be  secured  to 
citizens  of  American  adoption,  and  we  favor  the  settle 
ment  of  national  differences  by  international  arbitration. 

"  The  Republican  party,  having  its  birth  in  a  hatred  of 
slave  labor,  and  a  desire  that  all  men  may  be  truly  free 
and  equal,  is  unalterably  opposed  to  placing  our  working- 
men  in  competition  with  any  form  of  servile  labor, 
whether  at  home  or  abroad.  In  this  spirit  we  denounce 
the  importation  of  contract  labor,  whether  at  home  or 
abroad,  as  an  offense  against  the  spirit  of  American 
institutions,  and  we  pledge  ourselves  to  sustain  the  pres 
ent  law  restricting  Chinese  immigration,  and  to  provide 
such  further  legislation  as  is  necessary  to  carry  out  its 
purposes. 

"  Reform  of  the  civil  service,  auspiciously  begun  under 
the  Republican  administration,  should  be  completed  by 
the  further  extension  of  the  reform  system  already 
established  by  law  to  all  the  grades  of  the  service  to 
which  it  is  applicable.  The  spirit  and  purpose  of  the 


194      THE   PLATFORM. — ELAINE'S   OFFICIAL   NOTIFICATION. 

reform  should  be  observed  in  all  executive  appointments, 
and  all  laws  at  variance  with  the  objects  of  existing 
reform  legislation  should  be  repealed,  to  the  end  that  the 
dangers  to  free  institutions  which  lurk  in  the  power  of 
official  patronage  may  be  wisely  and  effectively  avoided. 

"The  public  lands  are  a  heritage  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  and  should  be  reserved,  as  far 
as  possible,  for  small  holdings  of  actual  settlers.  We  are 
opposed  to  the  acquisition  of  large  tracts  of  these 
lands  by  corporations  or  individuals,  especially  where 
such  holdings  are  in  the  hands  of  non-resident  aliens, 
and  we  will  endeavor  to  obtain  such  legislation  as  will 
tend  to  correct  this  evil. 

"We  demand  of  Congress  the  speedy  forfeiture  of 
all  land-grants  which  have  lapsed  by  reason  of  non- 
compliance  with  acts  of  incorporation,  in  all  cases 
where  there  has  been  no  attempt  in  good  faith  to  per 
form  the  conditions  of  such  grants. 

"  The  grateful  thanks  of  the  American  people  are 
due  to  the  Union  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  late  war ; 
and  the  Republican  party  stands  pledged  to  suitable 
pensions  for  all  who  were  disabled,  and  for  the  widows 
and  orphans  of  those  who  died  in  the  war.  The 
Republican  party  also  pledges  itself  to  the  repeal  of 
the  limitation  contained  in  the  Arrears  Act  of  1879, 
so  that  all  invalid  soldiers  shall  share  alike,  and  their 
pensions  begin  with  the  date  of  disability,  and  not  with 
the  date  of  application. 


THE   PLATFORM. — BLAINE'S   OFFICIAL   NOTIFICATION.      195 

"  The  Republican  party  favors  a  policy  which  shall 
keep  us  from  entangling  alliances  with  foreign  nations, 
and  which  gives  us  the  right  to  expect  that  foreign 
nations  shall  refrain  from  meddling  in  American  affairs  ; 
a  policy  which  seeks  peace  and  trade  with  all  powers, 
but  especially  with  those  of  the  Western  Hemisphere. 

"  We  demand  the  restoration  of  our  navy  to  its  old- 
time  strength  and  efficiency,  that  it  may  in  any  high 
sea  protect  the  rights  of  American  citizens  and  the 
interests  of  American  commerce.  We  call  upon  Con 
gress  to  remove  the  burdens  under  which  American 
shipping  has  been  depressed,  so  that  it  may  again  be 
true  that  we  have  a  commerce  which  leaves  no  sea 
unexplored,  and  a  navy  which  takes  no  law  from 
superior  force. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  appointment  by  the  President  to 
offices  in  the  Territories  should  be  made  from  the 
bona-fide  citizens  and  residents  of  the  Territories  where 
in  they  are  to  serve. 

"  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  duty  of  Congress  to  enact 
such  laws  as  shall  promptly  and  effectually  suppress 
the  system  of  polygamy  within  our  Territories,  and 
divorce  the  political  from  the  ecclesiastical  power  of  the 
so-called  Mormon  Church,  and  that  the  law  so  enacted 
should  be  rigidly  enforced  by  the  civil  authorities,  if 
possible,  and  by  the  military,  if  need  be. 

"  The  people  of  the  United  States,  in  their  organized 


196      THE  PLATFORM. — ELAINE'S   OFFICIAL  NOTIFICATION. 

capacity,  constitute  a  nation,  and  not  a  mere  confedera 
tion  of  States.  The  national  government  is  supreme 
within  the  sphere  of  its  national  duties,  but  the  States 
have  reserved  rights  which  should  be  faithfully  main 
tained,  and  which  should  be  guarded  with  jealous  care, 
so  that  the  harmony  of  our  system  of  government  may 
be  preserved,  and  the  Union  kept  inviolate. 

"The  perpetuity  of  our  institutions  rests  upon  the 
maintenance  of  a  free  ballot,  an  honest  count,  and 
correct  returns.  We  denounce  the  fraud  and  violence 
practiced  by  the  Democracy  in  Southern  States,  by 
which  the  will  of  the  voter  is  defeated,  as  dangerous 
to  the  preservation  of  free  institutions ;  and  we  solemnly 
arraign  the  Democratic  party  as  being  the  guilty  recip 
ient  of  the  fruits  of  such  fraud  and  violence. 

"  We  extend  to  the  Republicans  of  the  South,  regard 
less  of  their  former  party  affiliations,  our  cordial  sympa 
thy,  and  pledge  to  them  our  most  earnest  efforts  to 
promote  the  passage  of  such  legislation  as  will  secure 
to  every  citizen,  of  whatever  race  and  color,  the  full 
and  complete  recognition,  possession,  and  exercise  of 
all  civil  and  political  rights." 

The  platform  was  given  to  the  press  immediately 
after  its  adoption,  and  an  official  copy  was  sent  to  Mr. 
Elaine  by  the  Chairman  of  the  National  Republican 
Committee.  The  committee  to  notify  Mr.  Elaine  of  his 
nomination  arranged  to  arrive  at  Augusta  on  the  20th 


THE   PLATFORM.— ELAINE'S   OFFICIAL   NOTIFICATION.      197 

of  June,  and  make  the  official  announcement  on  the 
following  day.  Immediately  after  the  close  of  the 
convention,  the  delegates  scattered  in  various  direc 
tions,  but  assembled  at  Boston  on  the  day  in  question. 
They  proceeded  from  Boston  to  Augusta  in  a  special 
train,  arriving  late  in  the  evening.  There  was  a  large 
assemblage  of  citizens  to  meet  them,  and  they  were 
escorted  to  their  hotel  by  a  band  of  music  which  headed 
an  enthusiastic  procession. 

It  was  understood  that  the  ceremony  of  notification 
would  take  place  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon 
of  the  21st,  in  the  parlors  of  Mr.  Elaine's  house ;  but 
when  the  hour  came  and  the  committee  had  assem 
bled,  it  was  found  that  the  parlors  were  a  good  deal 
warmer  than  the  open  air,  while  the  latter  was  by  no 
means,  cool.  It  was  suggested  by  members  of  the  family 
that  it  would  be  better  to  have  the  ceremony  on  the  lawn, 
and  forthwith  the  party  adjourned  to  the  shelter  of  the 
shade-trees  where  Mr.  Blaine  was  swinging  in  his  ham 
mock  when  he  first  received  news  of  his  nomination. 
The  party  included  Mr.  Blaine  and  his  family,  a  few 
neighbors  and  intimate  friends,  together  with  the  com 
mittee,  headed  by  Gen.  John  B.  Henderson,  its  Chairman. 
There  were  in  all  about  a  hundred  persons  present,  form 
ing  a  picturesque  group ;  they  stood  in  a  semi-circle,  and 
when  all  was  ready  Mr.  Blaine  was  escorted  to  the  lawn 
and  placed  in  front  of  the  honorable  chairman. 


198      THE  PLATFORM. — ELAINE'S   OFFICIAL  NOTIFICATION. 

Gen.  Henderson  immediately  began  the  reading  of  the 
following  address,  and  continued,  with  only  a  few  occa 
sional  pauses,  to  its  close  : 

"  Mr.  Elaine :  Your  nomination  for  the  office  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States  by  the  National  Republi 
can  Convention,  recently  assembled  at  Chicago,  is  already 
known  to  you.  The  gentlemen  before  you,  constituting 
the  committee  composed  of  one  member  from  each  State 
and  Territory  of  the  country,  and  one  from  the  District 
of  Columbia,  now  come  as  the  accredited  organ  of  that 
convention  to  give  you  formal  notice  of  your  nomination 
and  to  request  your  acceptance  thereof.  It  is  of  course 
known  to  you  that,  beside  your  own,  several  other  names, 
among  the  most  honored  in  the  councils  of  the  Republi 
can  party,  were  presented  by  their  friends  as  candidates 
for  this  nomination.  Between  your  friends  and  the 
friends  of  the  other  gentlemen  so  justly  entitled  to 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  their  political  associates 
the  contest  was  one  of  generous  rivalry,  free  from  any 
taint  of  bitterness,  and  equally  free  from  the  reproach 
of  injustice. 

THE  CHOICE  OF  THE  PEOPLE. 

"At  an  early  stage  of  the  proceedings  of  the  conven 
tion  it  became  manifest  that  the  Republican  States 
whose  aid  must  be  invoked  at  last  to  insure  success  to 
the  ticket  earnestly  desired  your  nomination.  It  was 


THE   PLATFORM. — ELAINE'S   OFFICIAL   NOTIFICATION.      199 

equally  manifest  that  the  desire  so  earnestly  expressed 
by  delegates  from  those  States  was  but  a  truthful  reflec 
tion  of  an  irresistible  popular  demand.  It  was  not 
thought  nor  pretended  that  this  demand  had  its  origin 
in  any  ambitious  desires  of  your  own  or  in  organized 
work  of  your  friends,  but  it  was  recognized  to  be  what 
it  truthfully  is — a  spontaneous  expression  by  the  free 
people  of  love  and  admiration  of  a  chosen  leader.  No 
nomination  would  have  given  satisfaction  to  every  mem 
ber  of  the  party.  This  is  not  to  be  expected  in  a 
country  so  extended  in  area  and  so  varied  in  interests. 
The  nomination  of  Mr.  Lincoln  in  1860  disappointed  so 
many  hopes  and  overthrew  so  many  cherished  ambitions, 
that  for  a  short  time  disaffection  threatened  to  ripen  into 
open  revolt.  In  1872  the  discontent  was  so  pronounced 
as  to  impel  large  masses  of  the  party  to  an  organized 
opposition  to  its  nominees.  For  many  weeks  after  the 
nomination  of  General  Garfield,  in  1880,  defeat  seemed 
almost  inevitable.  In  each  case  the  shock  of  disappoint 
ment  was  followed  by  (  sober  second  thought.'  Individ 
ual  preferences  gradually  yielded  to  convictions  of  public 
duty.  The  prompting  of  patriotism  finally  rose  superior 
to  the  irritations  and  animosities  of  the  hour.  The  party 
in  every  trial  has  grown  stronger  in  the  face  of  threat 
ened  danger. 

"  In  tendering  you  the  nomination  it  gives  us  pleasure 
to  remember  that  those  orcat  measures  which  furnished 


200      THE   PLATFORM. — ELAINE'S   OFFICIAL   NOTIFICATION. 

the  cause  for  party  congratulations  by  the  late  conven 
tion  at  Chicago,  and  which  are  now  crystalized  into  the 
legislation  of  the  country,  measures  which  have  strength 
ened  and  dignified  the  Nation  while  they  have  elevated 
and  advanced  the  people,  have  at  all  times  and  on  all 
proper  occasions  received  your  earnest  and  valuable  sup 
port.  It  was  your  good  fortune  to  aid  in  protecting  the 
nation  against  the  assaults  of  armed  treason.  You 
were  present  and  helped  to  unloose  the  shackles  of 
slavery,  you  assisted  in  placing  anew  guarantees  of  free 
dom  in  the  Federal  Constitution.  Your  voice  was  potent 
in  preserving  national  faith,  when  false  theories  of  finance 
would  have  blasted  national  and  individual  prosperity. 
We  kindly  remember  you  as  the  fast  friend  of  honest 
money  and  commercial  integrity.  In  all  that  pertains  to 
the  security  and  repose  of  capital,  the  dignity  of  labor, 
manhood,  the  elevation  and  freedom  of  the  people,  the 
right  of  the  oppressed  to  demand,  and  the  duty  of  the 
government  to  afford,  protection,  your  public  acts  have 
received  the  unqualified  endorsement  of  popular  approval. 

THE  RECORD  OF  THE  PARTY. 

"  But  we  are  not  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  parties, 
like  individuals,  cannot  live  entirely  on  the  "past,  how 
ever  splendid  the  record.  The  present  is  ever  charged 
with  its  immediate  cares,  and  the  future  presses  on  with 
its  new  duties,  its  perplexing  responsibilities  ;  parties, 


THE   PLATFORM. — ELAINE'S   OFFICIAL  NOTIFICATION.      201 

like  individuals,  however,  that  are  free  from  the  stain  of 
violated  faith  in  the  past  are  fairly  entitled  to  the  pre 
sumption  of  sincerity  in  their  promises  for  the  future. 
Among  the  promises  made  by  the  party  in  its  late  con 
vention  at  Chicago,  are :  economy  and  purity  of  admin 
istration,  protection  of  the  citizen,  native  and  naturalized, 
at  home  and  abroad,  the  prompt  restoration  of  the  navy, 
the  wise  reduction  of  surplus  revenues,  relieving  the  tax 
payer  without  injuring  the  laborer,  the  preservation  of 
public  lands  for  actual  settlers,  import  duties  when  nec 
essary  at  all  to  be  levied,  not  for  revenue  only,  but  for 
the  double  purpose  of  revenue  and  protection,  the  regu 
lation  of  internal  commerce,  the  settlement  of  interna 
tional  differences  by  peaceful  arbitration,  but  coupled 
with  the  reassertion  and  maintenance  of  the  Monroe 
doctrine  as  interpreted  by  the  fathers  of  the  Republic ; 
perseverance  in .  the  good  work  of  civil  service  reform, 
to  the  end  that  dangers  to  free  institutions  which  lurk 
in  the  power  of  official  patronage  may  be  wisely  and 
effectively  avoided,  honest  currency  based  on  coin  of  in 
trinsic  value  aided,  strength  to  the  public  credit  and 
giving  renewed  vitality  to  every  branch  of  American 
industry. 

"  Mr.  Elaine  :  During  the  last  twenty-three  years  the 
Republican  party  has  builded  a  new  Republic — a  Repub 
lic  far  more  splendid  than  originally  designed  by  our 
fathers.  As  its  proportions  are  already  grand  they  may 


202      THE   PLATFORM. — ELAINE'S   OFFICIAL   NOTIFICATION. 

yet  be  enlarged  ;  its  foundations  may  yet  be  strengthened 
and  its  columns  may  be  adorned  with  a  beauty  more 
resplendent  still.  To  you  as  its  architect-in-chief  will 
soon  be  assigned  this  grateful  work." 

MR.  ELAINE'S  REPLY. 

When  General  Henderson  had  concluded.  Walker 
Elaine  stepped  forward  and  handed  his  father  the  manu 
script  of  an  address  in  reply  to  that  of  the  Committee. 
Mr.  Elaine  read  as  follows : 

"  Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  National  Com 
mittee  :  I  receive,  not  without  deep  sensibility,  your 
official  notice  of  the  action  of  the  National  Convention 
already  brought  to  my  knowledge  through  the  public 
press.  I  appreciate  more  profoundly  than  I  can  express 
the  honor  which  is  implied  in  the  nomination  for  the 
Presidency  by  the  Republican  party  of  the  Nation,  speak 
ing  through  the  authoritative  voice  of  duly  accredited 
delegates.  To  be  selected  as  a  candidate  by  such  an 
assemblage  from  the  list  of  eminent  statesmen  whose 
names  were  presented  fills  me  with  embarrassment.  I 
can  only  express  my  gratitude  for  so  signal  an  honor 
and  my  desire  to  prove  worthy  of  the  great  trust  reposed 
in  me.  In  accepting  the  nomination  as  I  now  do,  I  am 
impressed — I  am  also  oppressed — with  a  sense  of  the 
labor  and  responsibility  which  attach  to  my  position. 
The  burden  is  lightened,  however,  by  the  host  of  earnest 


THE   PLATFORM. — ELAINE'S   OFFICIAL   NOTIFICATION.      203 

men  who  support  my  candidacy,  many  of  whom  add,  as 
does  your  honorable  committee,  the  cheer  of  personal 
friendship  to  the  pledge  of  political  fealty. 

"A  more  formal  acceptance  will  naturally  be  expected 
and  will  in  due  season  be  communicated.  It  may,  how 
ever,  not  be  inappropriate  at  this  time  to  say  that  I  have 
already  made  a  careful  study  of  the  principles  announced 
by  the  National  Convention,  and  that  in  whole  and  in  de 
tail  they  have  my  heartiest  sympathy  and  meet  my 
unqualified  approval. 

"  Apart  from  your  official  errand,  gentlemen,  I  am  ex 
tremely  happy  to  welcome  you  all  to  my  house.  With 
many  of  you  I  have  already  shared  the  duties  of  public 
service,  and  have  enjoyed  most  cordial  friendship.  I 
trust  your  journey  from  all  parts  of  the  great  Republic 
has  been  agreeable,  and  that  during  your  stay  in  Maine 
you  will  feel  that  you  are  not  among  strangers,  but  with 
friends. 

"  Invoking  the  blessings  of  God  upon  the  great  cause 
which  we  jointly  represent,  let  us  turn  to  the  future 
without  fear,  and  with  manly  hearts." 

Those  who  were  present  say  Mr.  Elaine  never  appeared 
to  better  advantage.  He  had  been  standing  with  his 
arms  folded  across  his  breast.  His  dignified  and  noble 
bearing  deeply  impressed  all  who  saw  and  heard  him. 
His  reply  was  read  with  that  easy  and  natural  dignity 
which  he  possesses. 
9 


204      THE   PLATFORM. — ELAINE'S   OFFICIAL   NOTIFICATION. 

During  the  formalities,  all  stood  with  uncovered  heads. 
Chairman  Henderson,  after  Mr.  Elaine  had  finished,  pre 
sented  him  as  the  next  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  Mrs.  Blairie  as  the  next  lady  of  the  White  House. 
This  was  the  signal  for  a  round  of  cheers,  and  here 
Mr.  Elaine  kissed  Mrs.  Elaine,  and  shook  hands  with  all 
the  rest.  The  committee  returned  the  same  day  to 
Boston,  and  the  news  was  telegraphed  throughout  the 
country  that  Mr.  Elaine  was  officially  at  the  head  of  the 
Republican  ticket  for  the  campaign  of  1884. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


MR.  ELAINE  AT  HOME. 

Thirty  years  a  resident  of  Augusta. — Description  of  the  City. — A 
Delightful  Situation.— Both  banks  of  the  Quinnebec.— General  As 
pect  of  the  Place. — Its  Principal  Avenues. — State  Street  and  Capitol 
Street. — Position  of  Mr.  Elaine's  House. — Description  of  the  Build 
ing. — Additions  made  by  Mr.  Blaine  since  he  Bought  it. — The 
Grounds  Around  the  Building. — An  Abundance  of  Shade  Trees. — The 
Main  Entrance  to  the  House. — Arrangement  of  the  Rooms. — The 
Pictures  and  Furniture. — The  Billiard-Room  and  Library. — When 
Mr.  Blaine  performs  his  Work.— His  Habits  and  Daily  Life.— Read 
ing  Papers  and  Letters  in  Bed. — Formalities  of  Breakfast. — His 
Hours  of  Work. — Dinner  in  the  Blaine  Household. — Supper,  Recrea 
tion,  and  Sleep. — Methods  of  "Work. — How  he  Reads  the  Papers.— 
Opening  and  Answering  Letters. — How  he  Writes  Important  Papers. 
— Extent  and  Character  of  Mr.  Elaine's  Library. — His  Wonderful 
Memory.— His  Taste  in  Art.— Pedestrian  Exercise.— Mr.  Blaine 
Among  Friends  and  Neighbors. — Mrs.  Blaine  and  her  Accomplish 
ments. — The  Younger  Blaines. — Mr.  Elaine's  House  in  Washington. 

For  a  period  of  thirty-one  years  Augusta,  Maine,  has 
been  the  real  home  of  Mr.  Blaine,  for,  although  he  has 
been  much  away  from  there,  and  for  the  past  dozen  years 
or  more  has  maintained  a  winter  residence  in  Washing 
ton,  Augusta  is  the  spot  about  which  his  strongest 

(205) 


206  MR.    ELAINE   AT   HOME. 

home  associations  cluster,  for  it  was  there  that  the  earlier 
years  of  his  active  business  life  were  passed.  This  attrac 
tive  little  city  of  some  ten  thousand  inhabitants  is  charm 
ingly  located  on  both  banks  of  the  Kennebec,  the  second 
longest  river  in  Maine,  some  forty  miles  from  its 
mouth,  and  is  the  terminus  of  steam  navigation  on  the 
river.  The  banks  of  the  river  rise  in  a  series  of  terraces 
back  from  the  water,  there  being  three  distinct  ter 
races  or  shelves  upon  which  the  city  is  built.  Along  the 
river,  and  principally  upon  the  west  side,  is  the  business 
portion  of  the  city;  back  from  this,  at  an  elevation 
of  ninety  to  one  hundred  feet  from  the  water,  is  the 
plain  broken  by  ravines  extending  to  the  river,  upon 
which  the  private  residences,  churches,  and  public  build 
ings  are  located,  while  still  west  of  this  are  higher  ter 
races  overlooking  the  city,  the  river  valley,  and  a  wide 
extent  of  country  in  all  directions.  The  city  was  settled 
in  1754.  Its  streets  are  wide,  the  private  residences  sub 
stantial,  there  is  an  abundance  of  old  elms  and  maples, 
and  during  all  the  summer  months  the  entire  city  is  leaf- 
embowered. 

Along  the  whole  length  of  the  second  terrace  from  the 
river,  extends  one  of  the  principal  avenues,  known  as 
State  street,  reaching  from  the  Catholic  Church,  north, 
to  the  State  Capitol,  south, — a  distance  of  about  one 
mile, — a  straight,  level  street,  with  grand  old  elms,  wil 
lows,  and  maples  on  either  side.  Along  this  street  are 


MR.    ELAINE   AT   HOME.  207 

the  churches  and  some  of  the  finest  residences.  Here 
also  are  the  court-house,  jail,  and  in  a  pretty  little  park, 
the  Soldiers'  Monument,  one  of  the  finest  memorial  struc 
tures  in  all  New  England.  Just  at  the  southern  limit  of 
the  city,  before  reaching  the  State  House,  State  street  is 
crossed  at  right  angles  by  Capitol  street,  the  latter  sepa 
rating  Mr.  Elaine's  residence  from  the  State  grounds. 
Augusta  is  not  a  place  of  great  business  interests, — but 
is  a  wealthy,  staid,  conservative  place,  in  the  center  of 
one  of  the  best  farming,  and  most  picturesque  portions 
of  Maine. 

Previous  to  1862,  Mr.  Elaine's  home  in  Augusta  had 
been  in  the  double-tenement  house  on  Green  street, 
nearly  opposite  the  Methodist  church.  Eut  in  that  year 
he  purchased  the  large,  square  house  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  State  and  Capitol  streets,  just  mentioned, 
which  has  since  been  his  home.  This  house  formerly 
belonged  to  one  of  the  old  families  of  Augusta,  and  was 
sold  at  the  breaking  up  of  the  family.  It  is  of  wood, 
two  stories  high,  and  originally  contained  four  rooms  on 
the  ground  floor,  an  equal  number  above,  with  a  long  ell 
in  the  rear  extending  back  from  State  street.  In  1872 
Mr.  Elaine  contemplated  the  removal  of  the  old,  and 
building  of  a  new  house  ;  but  on  reflection,  and  consider 
ing  the  many  dear  associations  and  recollections  connected 
with  his  life  in  it,  he  concluded  to  enlarge  it  by  building 
a  rear  portion  to  give  more  room,  making  the  whole  har 
monious  in  exterior,  and  convenient  within. 


208  MR.    ELAINE   AT   HOME. 

Consequently  the  dwelling  presents  to-day  the  appear 
ance  of  two  houses  connected  by  a  long  ell.  The  main 
house  fronts  on  State  street,  standing  within  a  few  feet 
of  the  street,  having  a  wide  vestibule  in  front,  and  an 
annex  at  the  south  side  which  was  formerly  used  as  a 
winter  conservatory,  but  since  the  house  is  now  only  used 
as  a  summer  residence,  this  annex  makes  a  cosy  alcove 
leading  out  from  the  large  parlor.  The  main  house  is 
square,  two  stories  high,  with  a  flat  roof  surmounted  by 
a  cupola.  At  the  west  end  of  the  long  ell,  is  the  new 
portion  of  the  house  built  in  1872.  This  is  square, 
though  smaller  than  the  main  house,  not  as  high  in  the 
walls,  flat-roofed,  and  surmounted  by  a  cupola — and  is 
of  itself  almost  an  exact  duplicate  of  the  old,  or  front 
house.  The  whole  is  of  wood,  substantially  built,  plainly 
finished,  and  painted  a  dark  drab. 

The  house  is  close  to  the  north  line  of  the  lot,  and  at 
the  south  is  an  ample  lawn,  a  few  feet  lower  than  the 
ground  whereon  the  house  stands.  A  row  of  large 
maples  borders  the  State  street  front,  while  along  the 
Capitol  street  line  are  butternuts,  maples,  several  low 
evergreens,  and  many  old  apple  trees,  the  last-named  also 
occupying  places  on  the  lawn.  Hammocks  arc  suspended 
between  the  trees.  West  of  the  lawn,  near  the  stable 
entrance  to  the  grounds — the  stable  being  west  from  the 
house — is  a  hawthorn  hedge,  and  beyond  this  the  vege 
table  garden. 


MR.    ELAINE    AT   HOME.  209 

Entering  the  house  at  the  State  street  front,  and  pass 
ing1  the  vestibule,  we  enter  a  long,  wide  hall.  At  the 
right  is  the  reception  and  dining-room,  which  occupies 
the^ entire  north  half  of  the  house.  This  was  formerly 
two  rooms,  but  is  now  one  with  fluted  columns  at  each 
side,  marking  the  division.  Across  the  hall  to  the  south 
is  the  large  parlor,  with  which  the  alcove-annex  is  con 
nected.  Pictures  in  profusion  on  the  walls,  and  on  easels, 
adorn  these  rooms.  The  furnishings  are  plain  and  sub 
stantial  ;  there  is  little  attempt  at  embellishment  or  artis 
tic  display  ;  all  seems  adapted  to  use.  Passing  through 
the  long  hall  in  the  ell,  with  its  wide  veranda  at  the 
south,  its  domestic  rooms  at  the  north,  and  lined  as  it  is 
on  either  side  by  book-cases,  large  and  well  filled,  we 
reach  the  new  house.  Or  this  may  be  entered  from  the 
vestibule  at  the  south  side,  from  the  lawn.  If  so  entered, 
we  step  into  a  small  hall,  at  the  left  of  which  is  the  bil 
liard  room ;  at  the  right  is  the  library,  while  in  the  rear 
across  a  small  hall,  which  is  filled  with  books,  is  the 
kitchen.  The  billiard-room  is  finished  in  walnut  and 
ash,  with  a  floor  of  the  same  ;  and  on  the  walls  are  an 
oil  painting  of  President  Hayes,  large  photographs  of 
California  scenery,  and  a  large  map  of  the  United  States. 
The  paper  upon  the  walls  is  green  and  gold.  This  room 
is  now  used  as  the  work-shop  of  Mr.  Sherman,  Mr.  Elaine's 
private  secretary. 

Opposite  the  billiard-room  is  the  library.     The  corners 


210  MR.    BLAINE   AT   HOME. 

of  this  room  are  cut  across,  making  rooms  for  closets, 
and  giving  the  interior  an  oblong-octagon  form.  It  lias 
two  windows,  one  opening  south  and  one  east.  The  south 
window  looks  out  directly  across  the  lawn  among  the 
apple  trees  to  the  State  grounds  and  the  Senate  wing  of 
the  Capitol  building ;  the  east  one  commands  a  wider 
range,  and  when  the  foliage  is  off  the  trees,  one  can  look 
down  State  Park  to  the  monument  in  honor  of  Gov.  Lin 
coln,  and  across  the  river  to  the  Insane  Asylum,  two 
miles  away.  The  library  is  finished  in  walnut,  with  paper 
of  dark  red  and  gold.  On  the  north  side  is  an  open  fire 
place.  A  common  library  table,  with  two  sets  of  draw 
ers,  occupies  the  center  of  the  room ;  on  the  west  side  is  a 
large  book-case  ;  the  walls  are  hung  with  engravings. 
Chairs  and  lounges  are  disposed  about  the  room. 

Mr.  Elaine's  favorite  position  in  his  library  is  at  the 
south  window,  his  back  to  the  east  window,  the  light  of 
which  falls  over  his  shoulder.  Here  he  has  an  uphol 
stered  easy-chair,  and  an  adjustable  writing-stand,  or 
stand  for  holding  large  books.  In  this  room  Mr.  Elaine 
did  the  greater  part  of  the  work  on  his  history,  although 
when  much  absorbed  he  has  several  times  removed  his 
work  to  his  own  chamber,  immediately  over  the  library, 
as  being  less  liable  to  interruptions. 

During  his  summer  life  in  Augusta  Mr.  Elaine  usually 
rises  about  8  o'clock.  Previous  to  rising  he  will  look 
over  the  morning  Journal — the  paper  of  which  he  was 


MR.    ELAINE   AT   HOME.  211 

formerly  editor — and  some  of  his  letters,  in  bed.  Gen 
erally  he  takes  a  cup  of  clear,  hot  water,  as  hot  as  he  can 
drink  it,  before  rising,  as  a  good  "  tonic"  for  the  stom 
ach.  He  breakfasts  soon  after  rising,  the  meal  being 
very  simple.  Occasionally  he  will  have  a  steak,  or  more 
generally  boiled  eggs  and  dry  toast.  He  never  drinks 
coffee,  preferring  a  cup  of  tea.  All  the -family  breakfast 
together,  Mr.  Elaine  sitting  at  the  head  of  the  table  and 
carving  anything  that  requires  the  knife.  At  the  break 
fast-table  he  will  open  and  read  some  of  his  letters,  if  he 
has  not  read  them  all  before  coming  down  stairs.  Ordi 
narily,  when  at  home,  Mr.  Elaine's  habits  are  not  as 
methodical,  and  the  day  is  not  worked  off  with  as  much 
exactness,  as  when  he  is  in  Washington  ;  although  since 
he  has  been  at  work  upon  his  history  he  has  been  obliged 
to  conform  to  a  more  economical  use  of  his  summer  days. 

After  breakfast  a  short  time  is  spent  with  his  family 
and  friends,  and  at  ten  o'clock  he  goes  to  his  library  and 
the  solid  work  of  the  forenoon  begins,  which  is  carried 
on  uninterruptedly  and  with  great  vigor  till  2  o'clock, 
the  hour  for  dinner.  The  family  are  at  the  dinner-table 
about  an  hour.  Mr.  Elaine  usually  carves  the  meats  and 
serves  the  table,  but  of  late  years  if  his  sons  are  at  home 
he  will  ask  one  of  them  to  relieve  him. 

Dinner  consists  of  three  courses ;  but  is  always  sim 
ple  and  informal,  as  all  the  meals  are.  The  conversation 
is  lively  and  chatty  ;  affairs  of  the  day,  historical  ques- 


212  MR.    ELAINE   AT    HOME. 

tions,  and  literary  matters  being  the  subjects  of  discus 
sion.  Frequently  questions  arise  wherein  different  opin 
ions  prevail,  and  the  children,  as  well  as  the  older 
persons,  have  their  say.  Sometimes,  in  the  midst  of  the 
service,  one  of  the  children  will  leave  the  table  to  con 
sult  the  cyclopedia  in  order  to  decide  some  question  of 
doubt.  Mr.  Elaine  is  so  completely  indifferent  to  him 
self  that  it  is  not  easy  to  say  what  dishes  are  his  favor 
ites.  Roast  of  beef,  chicken — broiled  or  fricassed — he 
is  fond  of.  Vegetables  he  likes,  especially  celery.  He 
eats  very  little  bread,  no  cake,  not  often  pastry,  and 
rarely  puddings.  He  is  not  a  fastidious  diner,  usually 
paying  little  attention  to  what  he  eats,  and  never  profess 
ing  to  like  a  thing  because  it  is  choice,  or  a  famous  dish. 
His  rule  is,  if  he  is  hungry,  he  eats  plain,  simple  food — 
if  his  appetite  is  not  quick,  he  never  coaxes  it,  but  waits 
till  he  craves  a  fuller  meal. 

The  dinner-table  is  always  set  for  more  than  the  fam 
ily,  and  it  is  very  rarely  that  some  visitors  or  friends  are 
not  with  them  at  dinner.  After  dinner,  an  hour  and  a 
half  or  two  hours,  or — if  work  is  not  pressing — a  longer 
time,  is  spent  in  outdoor  exercise,  and  work  is  again 
resumed  at  4  o'clock  and  continued  till  supper.  Then 
Mr.  Elaine  takes  a  cup  of  tea,  or  some  plain  bread,  occa 
sionally  cold  meats,  but  never  hot  bread  or  cake.  He 
very  seldom  eat  grapes,  peaches,  or  acid  fruit.  He  never 
drinks  wine,  and  never  has  it  in  his  house  in  Augusta. 


MR.    ELAINE    AT   HOME.  213 

Occasionally  in  Washington  he  will  take  a  glass  of  wine 
but  cares  so  little  for  it  that  his  most  intimate  friend 
cannot  tell  what  kind  he  prefers.  He  has  never  in  all 
his  life  smoked  a  cigar,  or  used  tobacco  in  any  form. 
Once  in  a  while  he  will  indulge  in  a  game  of  whist — but 
it  is  very  seldom  that  he  takes  cards  in  his  hands.  Time 
is  too  precious  and  there  is  too  much  work  to  be  done. 
He  is  fond  of  billiards,  but  seldom  plays,  excepting  for 
exercise,  when  the  weather  does  not  admit  of  his  taking 
exercise  out  of  doors,  and  never  at  any  other  table  than 
his  own. 

After  tea  the  first  part  of  the  evening  is  spent  with  his 
family,  and  friends  or  neighbors  who  are  with  him,  or 
who  may  drop  in.  The  conversation  is  chatty,  informal, 
and  unstudied,  the  company  occupying  the  parlor  and 
dining-rooms,  as  an  ordinary  American  family  occupy 
the  living  rooms  of  their  house.  At  9  or  9.30  o'clock 
Mr.  Elaine  retires  to  his  library  and  spends  two  hours 
in  answering  letters  or  attending  to  correspondence  arid 
minor  matters,  of  business,  after  which  he  retires  to 
sleep  "  like  a  log"  till  morning.  He  is  in  perfect  health, 
and  his  sleep  is  always  as  much  a  matter  of  discipline 
as  his  work. 

In  his  work  Mr.  Elaine  has  great  directness,  method, 
and  concentration — yet  to  see  him  at  work  one  might 
think  he  was  doing  it  almost  without  order  or  system. 
His  old  journalistic  habits  abide  by  him,  and  his  method 


214  MR.    ELAINE   AT   HOME. 

is  that  of  the  busy  editor  rather  than,  of  the  quiet  and 
orderly  scholar  ;  absorption  and  intensity  characterizing 
all  that  he  does.  He  is  a  close  reader  of  journals  of  the 
day,  reading  with  great  rapidity  and  attention.  A  rapid 
glance  over  the  columns  of  one  paper  is  sufficient ; 
another  will  receive  a  more  complete  reading,  a  few 
moments  being  sufficient  to  absorb  all  he  wishes  ;  occa 
sionally  he  will  read  an  article  of  several  columns  in 
length  in  ten  or  fifteen  minutes.  All  the  papers  are 
gone  through  with  rapidly  in  this  manner  and  after  being 
read  are  thrown  upon  the  floor.  If  he  wishes  to  retain 
an  article  which  appears  in  a  paper  he  lays  it  aside  to 
be  referred  to  again. 

Papers  are  only  read  for  the  news  of  the  day — never 
for  opinions,  Mr.  Elaine  depending  upon  no  journal  for 
these.  He  receives  all  the  leading  papers  published, 
and  reads  them  all.  When  at  his  home  in  Augusta  he 
depends  upon  the  Kennebec  Journal,  Lewiston  Evening 
Journal,  and  Boston  Journal  for  the  daily  news — others 
coming  in  as  secondary.  If  he  has  a  favorite  paper  it 
is  probably  the  New  York  Tribune.  All  the  leading 
American  magazines  and  reviews  are  taken  and  regu 
larly  read,  while  to  some  extent  Mr.  Elaine  makes  clip 
pings  from  the  papers  on  subjects  of  public  interest,  lie 
has  no  hobby  of  this  nature,  as  many  public  men  seem 
to  have.  What  is  preserved  is  kept  in  a  plain  scrap-book 
more  for  the  use  of  his  Private  Secretary  than  because 


MR.    ELAINE    AT   HOME.  215 

he  himself  will  need  it — Mr.  Elaine  being  able  to  draw 
from  his  own  well-disciplined  memory,  anything  wanted, 
more  readily  than  it  could  be  obtained  from  an  indexed 
scrap-book. 

In  opening  and  attending  to  his  correspondence  the 
same  rapidity  and  directness  are  employed  as  in  reading 
the  journals  of  the  day.  His  letters  are  always  torn 
open,  usually  across  the  fold  at  the  top,  the  contents 
noted  in  an  instant,  and  again  returned  to  the  envelope 
to  await  answer.  If  not  driven  by  work,  or  if  attending 
to  correspondence  in  the  presence  of  friends,  chatting 
the  while,  Mr.  Elaine  has  the  habit  of  tearing  up,  and 
folding  up  the  envelopes,  as  he  opens  his  letters,  forming 
a  sharp  corner  of  the  paper  and  picking  his  fore  teeth 
with  the  same.  Mr.  Elaine  has  always  written  his  most 
important  letters  himself,  but  generally  he  dictates  to 
his  secretary,  in  brief,  and  the  great  bulk  of  his  corres 
pondence  is  answered  by  Mr.  Sherman,  who  notes  upon 
each  letter  received  a  synopsis  of  its  contents.  The 
letters  of  each  writer  are  then  finally  filed  by  themselves. 

In  the  more  elaborate  work  of  composing  his  history, 
speeches,  or  papers,  Mr.  Elaine  is  the  same  rapid  worker 
that  he  is  in  reading  the  journals  or  letters.  His  power 
of  persistent,  concentrated,  absorptive  work  is  tremend 
ous,  and  is  done  with  so  much  quietness  and  ease  that 
he  seems  never  to  realize  himself  what  a  worker  he  is, 
or  the  great  sum  of  that  which  is  accomplished  in  a  day. 


216  MR.    ELAINE   AT   HOME. 

The  writing  of  his  history  was  largely  done  in  Augusta 
during  the  summer  and  fall  of  1883,  although  the  revised 
proofs  were  prepared  in  "Washington  in  the  winter  of 
1883-4.  For  a  while  during  the  preparation  of  his 
history  Mr.  Elaine  dictated  to  a  stenographer  and  the 
copy  was  extended  by  means  of  a  type  writer,  but  the 
plan  was  not  long  continued.  It  was  apparent  that  there 
was  more  expenditure  of  force  by  this  means  than  that 
of  writing.  In  dictating  he  had  to  keep  in  mind  the 
entire  sentence,  in  order  to  make  it  clear  and  logical, 
while  in  writing  the  mind  was  more  at  ease  as  the  con 
nection  could  always  be  seen  on  the  page  before  him. 
He  could  readily  refer  to  what  had  been  said,  and  in 
consequence  the  stylus  of  the  reporter  was  displaced  by 
the  pen  in  his  own  hand — a  return  to  the  old  method  of 
the  editorial  desk.  His  copy  is  sometimes  re-written  by 
his  secretary  in  order  to  make  it  more  legible  to  the 
compositors  than  Mr.  Elaine's  own  rapid  hand-writing. 
Mr.  Elaine  at  his  work  is  so  absorbed  that  the  noise  of 
children  never  disturbes  him,  even  if  they  are  at  play  in 
the  room  where  he  is. 

At  his  home  in  Augusta  Mr.  Elaine  has  a  library  of 
some  three  thousand  volumes,  the  bulk  of  his  collection 
being  in  Washington.  The  books  are  mostly  disposed 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  house,  in  the  library,  dining- 
room,  and  halls.  Most  of  the  book-cases  have  glazed 
doors.  The  books  are  such  as  would  naturally  be  found 


MR.    BLAINE    AT   HOME.  217 

in  the  library  of  an  active,  busy,  public  man — official 
publications  of  government,  history,  international  law, 
biographies  of  great  men,  works  on  economic  science. 
The  great  poets  and  philosophers  are  found  on  the 
shelves,  and  some  of  the  masters  of  fiction.  He  is  a 
great  reader  of  and  is  very  familiar  with  the  Bible.  He 
studies  Macaulay  and  has  great  admiration  for  his  style. 
He  likes  to  read  of  Napoleon  the  Great.  He  admires 
Webster,  and  reads  Burke,  Lord  Bacon,  and  Blackstone. 
He  is  a  fine  Shakespearian  scholar,  but  devotes  little 
time  to  poetry.  In  fiction  his  favorites  are  Ivanhoe, 
some  of  Dickens'  works,  Daniel  Deronda,  and  Jane  Eyre. 
His  special  favorites  are  the  works  of  Charlotte  Bronte*. 
While  Mr.  Blaine  loves  good  bindings  and  choice  edi 
tions,  he  cannot  in  any  sense  be  termed  a  bibliophile, 
esteeming'  books  chiefly  for  their  interior  worth,  and 
their  service  to  his  work.  He  is  so  much  devoted  to 
his  studies,  that  it  can  hardly  be  said  he  ever  reads  for 
amusement.  On  facts,  names,  and  dates  of  history,  his 
information  is  stupendous,  minute,  and  exact.  The 
slightest  reference  to  any  subject  of  American,  Eng 
lish,  or  Continental  history,  or  public  affairs,  past  or 
contemporary,  is  sufficient  to  bring  up  in  his  mind  al 
most  instantly,  all  the  details  'pertaining  to  it  with 
wonderful  accuracy.  He  has  made  extensive  collections 
of  works  relating  to  finance,  statistics,  labor  and  wages, 
emigration,  and  economic  science  in  general.  In  these 


218  MR.    ELAINE   AT   HOME. 

branches,  Mr.  Elaine  may  be  regarded  an  expert.  His 
memory  is  prodigious,  almost  phenomenal.  He  can 
name  every  county  in  every  State  and  Territory  of  the 
Union. 

While  he  is  a  good  critic  in  matters  pertaining  to 
art,  Mr.  Elaine  has  less  fondness  for  these  than  for 
historic  and  literary  subjects.  His  house  is  adorned 
with  rare  engravings  and  prints,  preferring  them  to  oil, 
and  he  has  hundreds  of  choice  prints,  engravings,  and 
etchings  in  portfolios,  in  all  his  rooms. 

Mr.  Elaine  derives  great  enjoyment  from  walking,  and 
this  may  be  said  to  constitute  his  leading  exercise.  He 
had  much  rather  walk  than  ride,  and  generally  dislikes 
to  be  troubled  with  a  horse.  Once  a  week,  however,  he 
usually  drives  to  Hammond's  Grove,  on  Lake  Cobbas- 
seccoutee,  a  favorite  local  resort  of  great  beauty  five 
miles  from  the  city,  taking  his  children  or  some  friend 
with  him.  When  hard  at  work  and  he  is  obliged  to 
somewhat  limit  his  time  for  exercise,  Mr.  Elaine  walks 
back  and  forth  the  long  stretch  of  lawn  south  of  the 
house,  often  dictating  to  his  secretary ;  and  at  one  time 
Mr.  Sherman  improvised  a  rather  primitive  plank  desk, 
at  which  he  wrote  down  what  Mr.  Elaine  had  studied 
out  during  his  walks.  When  walking  among  his  apple 
trees,  he  is  constantly  reaching  up  among  the  boughs 
over  his  head  and  half-suspending  himself,  in  order  to 
give  the  muscles  of  his  arms  and  chest  full  exercise. 


JAMES    G.     BLAIXE    AND     HIS      FAMILY     AT    THEIR     HOME 

IX    AUGUSTA,     ME.,    WAITING    FOR    THE    RESULT 

OF    THE    BALLOT    IX    CHICAGO. 


MR.    BLAIXE   AT    HOME.  221 

If  time  will  admit  he  takes  longer  walks,  one  of  his 
favorite  haunts  being  to  the  deep  glen  westward  from 
the  State  House,  along  the  borders  of  a  wooded  hill, 
where  is  a  small  sheet  of  water;  and  still  another 
being  to  the  summit  of  "  Burnt  Hill "  at  the  top  of  the 
highest  terraced  elevation  west  of  the  city — a  spot 
known  as  "  Oliver's  Ledge,"  at  the  extreme  height  of 
this  hill,  among  oaks  and  low  evergreens,  is  often 
visited.  It  is  shady,  secluded,  and  commands  a  wide 
and  fine  view.  Here,  when  his  children  were  young, 
he  used  to  go  with  them,  his  wife,  and  some  of  the 
children  of  the  neighborhood,  as  often  as  once  a  week, 
and  partake  of  a  basket  picnic. 

When  taking  his  walks,  Mr.  Blaine  is  always  accom 
panied  by  some  of  his  children,  by  friends  visiting 
him,  or  some  of  his  old  neighbors.  During  these 
walks,  he  is  always  fluent  in  conversation.  If  his 
companion  be  an  old  friend,  his  conversation  is  usually 
of  his  early  life  in  Augusta,  his  old  friends  and  ac 
quaintances,  and  the  changes  that  have  taken  place. 
If  a  public  man,  it  is  of  public  affairs  with  which  he 
has  been  connected ;  but  it  is  noticeable  that  in  all 
these  conversations  one  would  never  guess  his  politics, 
and  never  know  whether  the  friends  of  whom  he  was 
talking  belonged  to  one  political  party  or  the  other. 
He  is  ever  just  to  his  opponents,  and  as  often  brings 
forward  a  strong  point  in  their  characters,  as  he  is 


222  MR.    ELAINE   AT   HOME. 

ready  to  show  a  weakness  in  that  of  his  own  political 
friends. 

In  his  every-day  home  life,  Mr.  Elaine  is  very  simple 
and  sensible.  He  wears  a  plain  business  suit  of  mixed 
Scotch  goods,  and  when  he  dresses  in  the  morning,  he  is 
dressed  for  the  day.  He  never  wears  a  dressing-gown, 
seldom  is  seen  with  slippers  on ;  but  in  summer  wears 
a  low-cut  shoe,  and  is  always  ready  for  a  run  on  the 
lawn  or  in  the  garden,  or  a  ride  with  a  friend.  When 
seated  in  a  chair,  he  generally  sits  erect  or  bends  for 
ward  slightly,  his  arms  resting  on  the  arms  of  the  chair 
(if  it  has  any),  his  legs  crossed,  and  his  hands  clasped 
in  front  of  him.  He  never  uses  a  rocking-chair,  and 
seldom  or  never  reclines  backward  in  the  chair  in  which 
he  may  be  seated.  He  wears  no  jewelry,  never  carries 
a  watch,  and  when  traveling  asks  his  companions  the 
hour  of  the  day. 

On  Sundays,  Mr.  Elaine  always  attends  service  at  the 
historic  Old  South  Congregational  Church,  with  the 
members  of  his  family  and  friends  who  may  be  visit 
ing  him,  and  of  this  church  he  became  a  member  in 
1858.  In  the  family  there  is  always  the  greatest  free 
dom,  and  visitors  and  friends  are  at  liberty  to  be  as 
familiar  as  they  would  in  their  own  house.  Indeed, 
there  is  more  homeliness  and  less  formality  in  Mr. 
Elaine's  residence  than  in  the  homes  of  the  majority  of 
prominent  men. 


MR.    ELAINE    AT    HOME.  223 

Among  his  neighbors,  and  in  the  social  life  of  the 
town,  Mr.  Elaine  is  held  in  universal  love  and  esteem. 
Although  a  brilliant  conversationalist  when  in  company, 
a  fine  listener,  and  exquisite  in  his  manifestations  of  def 
erence  to  his  friends  and  visitors,  on  the  street,  among 
his  neighbors,  and  around  the  town  generally,  he  is 
chatty  and  social  with  all.  He  has  the  nod  of  recogni 
tion,  the  cheery  word,  the  hearty  hand-shake  for  every 
body.  He  is  quick  to  recognize  an  old  friend,  and  never 
forgets  a  face  or  a  name.  He  talks  with  his  workmen, 
makes  acquaintances  easily,  and  in  conversation  seems 
ever  to  aim  at  drawing  out  what  his  friends  know  about 
their  own  business  or  occupations  rather  than  impressing 
them  with  a  sense  of  his  own  superior  wisdom. 

When  speaking  of  Augusta  or  of  his  old  acquaintances, 
he  always  refers  to  them  in  the  most  tender  and  pathetic 
way,  and  has  often  said  he  would  not  exchange  his  old 
home,  the  people  who  have  been  so  kind  to  him,  and  the 
haunts  that  are  so  dear  to  him,  for  anything  in  the  world 
beside.  He  bears  the  love  of  all,  and  his  charity  and 
benevolence  to  the  poor  and  needy  are  almost  without 
bounds.  He  has  a  warm  heart,  the  most  kindly  instincts, 
and  a  frank,  manly,  generous  nature. 

Mrs.  Blaine  is  a  woman  of  great,  good  judgment, 
quick  perception,  and  heroic  courage.  She  is  a  great 
reader,  an  excellent  entainer,  and  abundantly  informed 
in  ancient  and  recent  history.  She  carries  on  a  large  per- 


224  MR.    ELAINE   AT   HOME. 

sonal  correspondence ;  superintends  all  the  domestic 
affairs  of  the  household,  directs  the  marketing  and  pays 
all  the  family  expenses.  Mr.  Elaine  has  great  fondness 
for  his  wife  and  children,  his  children  being  his  only 
pets,  and  on  retiring  in  the  evening  they  invariably  have 
the  good-night  kiss  from  father's  lips,  even  though  of 
adult  years  and  in  presence  of  company. 

Mr.  Elaine's  family  consists  of  six  children,  although 
his  eldest  daughter,  Alice,  now  Mrs.  Coppinger,  can 
hardly  be  said  to  comprise  one  of  the  household.  The 
eldest  son,  Walker,  is  a  graduate  of  Yale  College  and  of 
Columbia  LaAV  School,  New  York,  and  is  Assistant 
Counsel  for  the  United  States  in  the  Court  of  Commis 
sioners  of  Alabama  Claims,  in  Washington.  His  second 
son,  Emmons,  is  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College,  and  is 
now  Freight  Agent,  in  charge  of  the  Iowa  and  Dakota 
Division  of  the  Chicago  &  North  Western  Railway, 
with  headquarters  at  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa.  The  youngest 
son  is  James  G.,  Jr.,  and  now  fifteen  years  of  age.  The 
younger  daughters  are  Margaret  and  Harriet. 

Mr.  Elaine's  residence  in  Washington  has  long  been 
famous  for  its  hospitality,  and  is  thus  described  by  a  cor 
respondent  of  the  Philadelphia  Press  : 

"  About  three  years  ago  Mr.  Elaine  bought  an  expen- 
r  sive  lot  fronting  on  Dupont  Circle,  in  the  extreme  North 
western  end  of  the  city,  where  recently  there  has  been  a 
great  real  estate  boom,  and  proceeded  to  erect  upon  it 


MR.    ELAINE   AT   HOME.  225 

one  of  the  finest  houses  in  the  district,  where  he  intended 
to  live  in  grand  style  as  Secretary  of  State,  but  the 
untimely  death  of  Garfield  prevented  the  carrying  out 
of  this  plan,  and,  moreover,  he  found  it  more  expensive 
than  it  was  worth. 

"  The  house  was  complete  in  style  and  appointments 
and  from  nine  to  eleven  servants  were  necessary  to  run 
it.  This  gave  Mrs.  Elaine  a  vast  amount  of  trouble,  and 
they  finally  determined  to  rent  the  house,  a  good  customer 
being  found  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Leiter,  of  Chicago,  at 
a  rental  of  §15,000  a  year.  Mr.  Elaine  then  rented  a 
house  on  Jackson  Square,  next  door  to  that  occupied  by 
General  Beal  and  opposite  to  the  historic  residence  of 
General  Sickles.  Mr.  Corcoran  also  lives  on  another  side 
of  this  square  ;  and  until  recently  Eob  Ingersoll  occupied 
another  of  the  residences,  the  White  House  fronting  it 
on  the  South.  The  square  is  a  very  quiet  one,  famous 
for  its  prancing  statue  of  Jackson,  and  among  horticul 
turists  for  its  splendid  variety  of  shrubs  and  trees,  the 
largest,  it  is  said,  in  any  small  park  in  the  country ." 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


MR.  ELAINE'S  YIEWS   ON  IMPORTANT   TOPICS 
OF  THE  DAY. 

Elaine  on  the  Republican  Party. — Not  Immaculate,  but  Never 
Cowardly. — His  Views  on  the  Chinese  Immigration  Question. — 
Speech  in  the  Senate. — Letter  to  Wm.  Lloyd  Garrison. — Opposed  to 
Competition  of  Cheap  Labor. — Debasing  Influence  of  Chinese  in 
the  Pacific  Coast  States. — The  Buzzi  Case. — "  Once  an  American, 
Always  an  American." — Troops  at  the  Polls. — Postal  Cards. — The 
Costello  Case. — Status  of  a  Naturalized  Citizen. — Free  Trade  and 
Protection. — History  of  Free  Trade  in  England. — English  Protection 
of  Shipping  Interests. — Early  Trade  Policy  of  the  United  States. — 
Effects  of  Free  Trade  and  Protection  Contrasted. — Advantages  of 
Protection  to  the  American  "Workingman. — A  Picture  of  the  Future. 
— Civil  Service  Reform. — Mr.  Elaine's  Views  Concerning  It. 

In  one  of  his  speeches  made  to  the  Republicans  of 
Portland,  in  1882,  Mr.  Elaine  said:— 

"Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  Republican  part}7 — 
and  that  a  party  could  be  in  power  twenty-one  years  and 
not  make  mistakes  would  be  absurd ;  that  a  party  could 
have  millions  of  people  and  not  have  a  dishonest  man 
among  them  would  be  absurd — but  whatever  may  be 
said  of  the  Republican  party,  there  is  one  thing  that 

(226) 


ELAINE'S  VIEWS  ON  IMPORTANT  TOPICS.          227 

never  can  be  truthfully  said — it  never  can  be  said  that 
it  was  not  a  brave  party ;  it  never  can  be  said  that  it 
had  a  drop  of  coward's  blood  in  its  whole  organization!" 

In  a  speech  in  the  Senate  in  February,  1879,  Mr. 
Elaine  said  that  the  Chinese  government  agreed  to 
make  a  law  that  emigration  should  be  entirely  volun 
tary,  but  it  never  did  so,  and  the  treaty  stood  broken  by 
China  from  the  beginning.  This  country  and  this 
Senate  would  not  hesitate  to  defy  any  European  power 
which  should  act  as  China  had  done.  So  far  as  his 
vote  was  concerned  he  would  not  admit  a  man  as  an 
immigrant  to  this  country  whom  he  was  not  willing  to 
make  a  citizen.  Under  our  system  of  government  we 
should  never  admit  people  who  are  not  to  aid  in  the 
government  and  take  part  in  the  body  politic. 

In  his  letter  to  William  Lloyd  -Garrison,  about  the  same 
time,  Mr.  Elaine  said:  "Put  the  two  classes  of  labor 
side  by  side  and  the  cheap  servile  labor  pulls  down  the 
more  manly  toil  to  its  level.  Whoever  contends  for  the 
unrestricted  immigration  of  Chinese  coolies  contends 
for  that  system  of  toil  which  blights  the  prospects  of 
the  white  laborer — dooming  him  to  starvation  wages, 
killing  his  ambition  by  rendering  his  struggle  hopeless, 
and  ending  in  a  plodding  and  pitiable  poverty.  I  do  not 
at  all  exaggerate  when  I  say  that  on  the  adoption  or 
rejection  of  the  policy  passed  upon  by  Congress  hangs 
the  fate  of  the  Pacific  slope — whether  its  labor  shall  be 


228  ELAINE'S  VIEWS  ON  IMPORTANT  TOPICS. 

that  of  American  freemen  or  servile  Mongolians.  There 
is  no  ground  on  which  we  are  bound  to  receive  them  to 
our  own  detriment.  Charity  is  the  first  of  Christian 
graces.  As  with  a  family,  so  with  a  nation ;  the  same 
instinct  of  self-preservation  exists,  the  same  right  to 
prefer  the  interests  of  our  own  people,  the  same  duty  to 
exclude  that  which  is  corrupting  and  dangerous  to  the 
Republic.  The  Chinese  question  connects  itself  inti 
mately  and  inseparably  with  the  labor  question.  In  a 
republic  where  the  man  who  works  carries  a  ballot  in 
his  hands,  it  will  not  do  for  capitalized  wealth  to  legis 
late  for  cheap  labor.  There  is  not  a  laboring  man  from 
the  Penobscot  to  the  Sacramento  who  would  not  feel 
aggrieved,  outraged,  burdened,  crushed,  by  being  forced 
into  competition  with  the  labor  and  the  wages  of  the 
Chinese  cooly.  For  one  I  will  never  consent,  by  my 
vote  or  my  voice,  to  drive  the  intelligent  workingmen  of 
America  to  that  competition  and  that  degradation." 

In  the  celebrated  Buzzi  case  Mr.  Elaine  declined  to 
recognize  the  power  of  a  commission  to  denationalize  an 
American  citizen.  He  took  the  broad,  firm  ground  that 
when  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction  makes  a  man  a 
citizen  there  is  no  power  in  the  Executive  Department 
to  reverse  that  judgment,  and  that  what  the  Executive 
Department  cannot  do  itself  it  cannot  permit  a  commis 
sion,  which  is  the  mere  creation  of  Executive  authority, 
to  do. 


ELAINE'S   VIEWS   ON   IMPORTANT  TOPICS.  229 

In  a  discussion  in  the  Senate,  in  1879,  on  the  question 
of  troops  at  the  polls  during  elections,  Mr.  Elaine  said: 
"I  wonder  how  amazing  it  would  be  to  any  man  in 
Europe,  familiar  as  Europeans  are  with  great  armies,  if 
he  were  told  that  over  a  territory  larger  than  France 
and  Spain  and  Portugal  and  Great  Britain  and  Holland 
and  Belgium  and  the  German  Empire  all  combined 
there  were  but  1,155  soldiers !  That  is  all  this  Demo 
cratic  howl,  this  mad  cry,  this  false  issue,  this  absurd 
talk,  is  based  on.  The  impression  sought  to  be  created, 
here  and  in  Europe,  is  that  elections  are  attempted 
in  this  country  to  be  controlled  by  the  bayonet.  I 
denounce  it  here  as  a  false  issue.  I  am  not  at  liberty  to 
say  that  any  gentleman  making  the  issue  knows  it  to  be 
false,  but  I  am  going  to  prove  to  him  that  it  is  false,  and 
that  there  is  not  a  solitary  inch  of  solid  earth  on  which 
to  rest  the  foot  of  any  man  that  makes  that  issue." 

While  a  member  of  the  Post-office  Committee  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  he  took  an  active  part  in 
securing  the  system  of  postal  cars  now  in  general  use. 

In  1867,  one  Augustine  Costello  was  arrested  while 
in  Ireland  and  placed  on  trial  for  a  speech  which  he 
made  in  New  York  while  an  American  citizen,  in  1865. 
The  speech  was  construed  as  treasonable,  and,  under 
the  act  of  1848,  which  especially  declared  England's  right 
to  punish  upon  British  soil  British-born  subjects  for  trea 
sonable  utterances  or  performances  made  upon  foreign 
10 


230  ELAINE'S  VIEWS  ON  IMPORTANT  TOPICS. 

territory,  Costello  was  sentenced  to  sixteen  years'  penal 
servitude.  His  claims  of  American  citizenship  were 
ignored  upon  the  ground  that  there  was  nothing  exist 
ing  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  de 
barring  Great  Britain  from  claiming  as  a  British  subject 
any  person  born  on  British  soil.  Costello  was  removed 
to  Millbank  prison,  when  Mr.  Blaine  took  up  his  case. 
Blaine  organized  a  Congressional  agitation,  which  re 
sulted  in  the  liberation  of  Costello  and  his  colleagues, 
who  possessed  full  American  naturalization,  and  the 
treaty  of  1870,  in  which  Great  Britain  surrendered  all 
claims  of  allegiance  from  British  subjects  who  became 
naturalized  as  American  citizens. 

Mr.  Blaine's  views  on  the  tariff  question  are  set  forth 
in  Chapter  IX  of  his  book,  "  Twenty  Years  in  Congress." 
The  following  extract  is  taken  from  the  closing  portion 
of  the  chapter,  and  will  be  read  with  interest : 

"  Strictly  speaking,  there  has  never  been  a  proposition 
by  any  party  in  the  United  States  for  the  adoption  of 
free  trade.  To  be  entirely  free,  trade  must  encounter 
no  obstruction  in  the  way  of  tax,  either  upon  export  or 
import.  In  that  sense  no  nation  has  ever  enjoyed  free 
trade.  As  contradistinguished  from  the  theory  of  pro 
tection,  England  has  realized  freedom  of  trade  by  .taxing 
only  that  class  of  imports  which  meet  no  competition 
in  home  production,  thus  excluding  all  pretence  of  favor 
or  advantage  to  any  of  her  domestic  industries.  England 


ELAINE'S  VIEWS  ON  IMPORTANT  TOPICS.          231 

came  to  this  policy  after  having  clogged  and  embar 
rassed  trade  for  a  long  period  by  the  most  unreasonable 
and  tyrannical  restrictions,  ruthlessly  enforced,  without 
regard  to  the  interests  or  even  the  rights  of  others. 
She  had  more  than  four  hundred  Acts  of  Parliament 
regulating  the  tax  on  imports,  under  the  old  designation 
of  '  tonnage  and  poundage,'  adjusted,  as  the  phrase  indi 
cates,  to  heavy  and  light  commodities.  Beyond  these, 
she  had  a  cumbersome  system  of  laws  regulating,  and 
in  many  cases  prohibiting,  the  exportation  of  articles 
which  might  teach  to  other  nations  the  skill  by  which 
she  had  herself  so  marvelously  prospered. 

"  When,  by  long  experiment  and  persistent  effort, 
England  had  carried  her  fabrics  to  perfection  ;  when,  by 
the  large  accumulation  of  wealth  and  the  force  of 
reserved  capital,  she  could  command  facilities  which 
poorer  nations  could  not  rival ;  when,  by  the  talent  of  her 
inventors,  developed  under  the  stimulus  of  large  reward, 
she  had  surpassed  all  other  countries  in  the  magnitude 
and  effectiveness  of  her  machinery,  she  proclaimed  free 
trade,  and  persuasively  urged  it  upon  all  lands  with 
which  she  had  commercial  intercourse.  Maintaining 
the  most  arbitrary  and  most  complicated  system  of  pro 
tection  so  long  as  her  statesmen  deemed  that  policy 
advantageous,  she  resorted  to  free  trade  only  when  she 
felt  able  to  invade  the  domestic  markets  of  other 
countries,  and  undersell  the  fabrics  produced  by  strug- 


232          ELAINE'S  VIEWS  ON  IMPORTANT  TOPICS. 

gling  artisans  who  were  sustained  by  weaker  capital  and 
by  less  advanced  skill.  So  long  as  there  was  danger 
that  her  own  marts  might  be  invaded,  and  the  products 
of  her  looms  and  forges  undersold  at  home,  she  rigidly 
excluded  the  competing  fabric  and  held  her  own  market 
for  her  own  wares. 

"  England  was,  however,  neither  consistent  nor  candid 
in  her  advocacy  of  free  trade.  She  did  not  apply  it  to 
all  departments  of  her  enterprises,  but  only  to  those  in 
which  she  felt  confident  that  she  could  defy  competition. 
Long  after  the  triumph  of  free  trade  in  manufactures, 
as  proclaimed  in  1846,  England  continued  to  violate 
every  principle  of  her  own  creed  in  the  protection  she 
extended  to  her  navigation  interests.  She  had  nothing 
to  fear  from  the  United  States  in  the  domain  of  manu 
factures,  and  she  therefore  asked  us  to  give  her  the 
unrestricted  benefit  of  our  markets  in  exchange  for  a 
similar  privilege  which  she  offered  to  us  in  her  markets. 
But  on  the  sea  we  were  steadily  gaining  upon  her,  and 
in  1850-55,  were  nearly  equal  to  her  in  aggregate  ton 
nage.  We  could  build  wooden  vessels  at  less  cost  than 
England,  and  our  ships  excelled  hers  in  speed.  When 
steam  began  to  compete  with  sail,  she  saw  her  advan 
tage.  She  could  build  engines  at  less  cost  than  we,  and 
when,  soon  afterward,  her  ship-builders  began  to  con 
struct  the  entire  steamer  of  iron,  her  advantages  became 
evident  to  the  whole  world. 


ELAINE'S  VIEWS  ON  IMPORTANT  TOPICS.  233 

"  England  was  not  content  however  with  the  superiority 
which  these  advantages  gave  to  her.  She  did  not  wait 
for  her  own  theory  of  free  trade  to  work  out  its  legiti 
mate  results,  but  forthwith  stimulated  the  growth  of  her 
steam-marine  by  the  most  enormous  bounties  ever  paid 
by  any  nation  to  any  enterprise.  To  a  single  line  of 
steamers,  running  alternate  weeks  from  Liverpool  to 
Boston  and  New  York,  she  paid  nine  hundred  thousand 
dollars  annually,  and  continued  to  pay  at  this  extrav 
agant  rate  for  at  least  twenty  years.  In  all  channels  of 
trade  where  steam  could  be  employed  she  paid  lavish 
subsidies,  literally  destroyed  fair  competition,  and  created 
for  herself  a  practical  monopoly  in  the  building  of  iron 
steamers  and  a  superior  share  in  the  ocean  traffic  of  the 
world.  But  every  step  she  took  in  the  development  of 
her  steam-marine  by  the  payment  of  bounty  was  in  flat 
contradiction  of  the  creed  which  she  was  at  the  same 
time  advocating  in  those  departments  of  trade  where 
she  could  conquer  her  competitors  without  bounty. 

"  With  her  superiority  in  navigation  attained  and  made 
secure  through  the  instrumentality  of  subsidies,  England 
could  afford  to  withdraw  them.  Her  ships  no  longer 
needed  them.  Thereupon,  with  a  promptness  which 
would  be  amusing  if  it  did  not  have  so  serious  a  side  for 
America,  she  proceeded  to  inveigh  through  all  her  organs 
of  public  opinion  against  the  discarded  and  condemned 
policy  of  granting  subsidies  to  ocean  steamers.  Her 


284          ELAINE'S  VIEWS  ON  IMPORTANT  TOPICS. 

course  in  effect  is  an  exact  repetition  of  that  in  regard 
to  protection  of  manufactures,  but  as  it  is  exhibited 
before  a  new  generation,  the  inconsistency  is  not  so 
readily  apprehended  nor  so  keenly  appreciated  as  it 
should  be  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Even  now  there 
is  good  reason  for  believing  that  many  lines  of  English 
steamers,  in  their  efforts  to  sieze  the  trade  to  the  exclu 
sion  of  rivals,  are  paid  such  extravagant  rates  for  the 
carrying  of  letters  as  practically  to  amount  to  a  bounty, 
thus  confirming  to  the  present  day  (1884)  the  fact  that 
no  nation  has  ever  been  so  persistently  and  so  jealously 
protective  in  her  policy  as  England  so  long  as  the  stimu 
lus  of  protection  is  needed  to  give  her  the  command  of 
trade.  What  is  true  of  England  is  true  in  a  greater  or 
'  less  degree  of  all  other  European  nations.  They  have 
each  in  turn  regulated  the  adoption  of  free  trade  by  the 
ratio  of  their  progress  towards  the  point  where  they 
could  overcome  competition.  In  all  those  departments 
of  trade  where  competition  could  overcome  them  they 
have  been  quick  to  interpose  protective  measures  for  the 
benefit  of  their  own  people. 

"  The  trade  policy  of  the  United  States  at  the  founda 
tion  of  the  government  had  features  of  enlightened  lib 
erality  which  were  unknown  in  any  other  country  of  the 
world.  The  new  government  was  indeed  so  far  in 
advance  of  European  nations  in  the  proper  conceptions 
of  liberal  commerce  as  it  was  on  questions  relating  to 


BLAINE'S  VIEWS  ON  IMPORTANT  TOPICS.     235 

the  character  of  the  African  slave-trade.  The  colonists 
had  experienced  the  oppression  of  the  English  laws  which 
prohibited  export  from  the  mother  country  of  the  very 
articles  which  might  advance  their  material  interest  and 
improve  their  social  condition.  They  now  had  the  oppor 
tunity,  as  citizens  of  a  free  Republic,  to  show  the  gener 
ous  breadth  of  their  statesmanship,  and  they  did  so  by 
providing  in  their  Constitution  that  Congress  should 
never  possess  the  power  to  levy  '  a  tax  or  duty  on  articles 
exported  from  any  State.' 

"  The  essential  question  which  has  grown  up  between 
political  parties  in  the  United  States  respecting  our  for 
eign  trade  is,  whether  a  duty  should  be  laid  upon  any 
import  for  the  direct  object  of  protecting  and  encourag 
ing  the  manufacture  of  the  same  article  at  home.  The 
party  opposed  to  this  theory  does  not  advocate  the  admis 
sion  of  the  articles  free,  but  insists  upon  such  rate  of 
duty  as  will  produce  the  largest  revenue,  and  at  the  same 
time  afford  what  is  termed  'incidental  protection.'  The 
advocates  of  actual  free  trade,  according  to  the  policy  of 
England, — taxing  only  those  articles  which  are  not  pro 
duced  at  home, — are  few  in  number  and  are  principally 
confined  to  doctrinaires.  The  instincts  of  the  masses  of 
both  parties  are  against  them.  But  the  nominal  free 
trader  finds  it  very  difficult  to  unite  the  largest  revenue 
from  any  article  with  '  incidental  protection  '  to  the  com 
peting  products  at  home.  If  the  duty  be  so  arranged  as 


236          ELAINE'S  VIEWS  ON  IMPORTANT  TOPICS. 

to  produce  the  greatest  amount  of  revenue,  it  must  be 
placed  at  the  point  where  the  foreign  article  is  able  to 
undersell  the  domestic  article  and  thus  command  the 
market  to  the  exclusion  of  competition.  This  result 
goes  beyond  what  the  so-called  American  free-trader 
intends  in  practice,  but  not  beyond  what  he  implies  in 
theory. 

"  The  American  protectionist  does  not  seek  to  evade 
the  legitimate  results  of  his  theory.  He  starts  with  the 
proposition  that  whatever  is  manufactured  at  home  gives 
work  and  wages  to  our  own  people,  and  that  if  the  duty 
is  even  put  so  high  as  to  prohibit  the  import  of  the  foreign 
article,  the  competition  of  home  producers  will,  accord 
ing  to  the  doctrine  of  Mr.  Hamilton,  rapidly  reduce  the 
price  to  the  consumer.  He  gives  numerous  illustrations 
of  articles  which,  under  the  influence  of  home  competi 
tion,  have  fallen  in  price  below  the  point  at  which  the 
foreign  article  was  furnished  when  there  was  no  protec 
tion.  The  free-trader  replies  that  the  fall  in  price  lias 
been  still  greater  in  foreign  markets ;  the  protectionist 
rejoins  that  the  reduction  was  made  to  compete  with 
the  American  product,  and  that  the  former  price  would 
probably  have  been  maintained  so  long  as  the  importer 
had  the  monopoly  of  our  market.  Thus  our  protective 
tariff  reduced  the  price  in  both  countries.  This  has  nota 
bly  been  the  result  with  respect  to  steel  rails,  the  produc 
tion  of  which  in  America  has  reached  a  magnitude  sur- 


ELAINE'S  VIEWS  ON  IMPORTANT  TOPICS.          237 

passing  that  of  England.  Meanwhile  rails  have  largely 
fallen  in  price  to  the  consumer,  the  home  manufacture 
has  disbursed  countless  millions  of  money  among  Ameri 
can  laborers,  and  has  added  largely  to  our  industrial 
independence,  and  to  the  wealth  of  the  country. 

"  While  many  articles  have  fallen  to  as  low  a  price  in 
the  United  States  as  elsewhere,  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that 
articles  of  clothing  and  household  use,  medals  and 
machinery,  are  on  an  average  higher  than  in  Europe. 
The  difference  is  due,  in  a  large  degree,  to  the  wages 
paid  to  labor,  and  thus  the  question  of  reducing  the  tariff 
carries  with  it  the  very  serious  problem  of  reduction  in 
the  pay  of  the  artisan  and  the  operative.  This  involves 
so  many  grave  considerations  that  no  party  is  prepared 
to  advocate  it  openly.  Free-traders  do  not,  and,  appar 
ently,  dare  not,  face  the  plain  truth — which  is  that  the 
lowest-priced  fabric  means  the  lowest-priced  labor.  On 
this  point  protectionists  are  more  frank  than  their  oppo 
nents  ;  they  realize  that  it  constitutes  indeed  the  most 
impregnable  defense  of  their  school.  Free-traders  have 
attempted  at  times  to  deny  the  truth  of  the  statement ; 
but  every  impartial  investigation  has  thus  far  conclusively 
proved  that  labor  is  better  paid,  and  the  average  condition 
of  the  laboring  man  more  comfortable,  in  the  United 
States  than  in  any  European  country. 

"An  adjustment  of  the  protective  duty  to  the  point  which 
represents  the  average  difference  between  wages  of  labor 
10* 


238          ELAINE'S  VIEWS  ON  IMPORTANT  TOPICS. 

in  Europe  and  in  America,  will,  in  the  judgment  of 
protectionists,  always  prove  impracticable.  The  differ 
ence  cannot  be  regulated  by  a  scale  of  averages,  because 
it  is  constantly  subject  to  arbitrary  changes. 

"  If  the  duty  be  adjusted  on  that  basis  for  any  given 
date,  a  reduction  of  wages  would  at  once  be  enforced 
abroad,  and  the  American  manufacturer  would  in  conse 
quence  be  driven  to  the  desperate  choice  of  surrendering 
the  home  market  or  reducing  the  pay  of  workmen.  The 
theory  of  protection  is  not  answered,  nor  can  its  realiza 
tion  be  attained  by  any  such  device.  Protection,  in  the 
perfection  of  its  design,  as  described  by  Mr.  Hamilton, 
does  not  invite  competition  from  abroad,  but  is  based  on 
the  controlling  principle  that  competition  at  home  will 
always  prevent  monopoly  on  the  part  of  the  capitalist, 
assure  good  wages  to  the  laborer,  and  defend  the  con 
sumer  against  the  evils  of  extortion. 

"  The  assailants  of  protection  apparently  overlook  the 
fact  that  excessive  production  is  due,  both  in  England 
and  in  America,  to  causes  beyond  the  operation  of  duties, 
either  high  or  low.  No  cause  is  more  potent  than  the 
prodigious  capacity  of  machinery  set  in  motion  by  the 
agency  of  steam.  It  is  asserted  by  an  intelligent  econo 
mist  that,  if  performed  by  hand,  the  work  done  by  ma 
chinery  in  Great  Britain  would  require  the  labor  of  seven 
hundred  millions  of  men, — a  far  larger  number  of  adults 
than  inhabit  the  globe.  It  is  not  strange  that  with  this 


ELAINE'S  VIEWS  ON  IMPORTANT  TOPICS.          239 

vast  enginery,  the  power  to  produce  has  a  tendency  to 
outrun  the  power  to  consume.  Protectionists  find  in  this 
a  conclusive  argument  against  surrendering  the  domestic 
markets  of  the  United  States  to  the  control  of  British 
capitalists,  whose  power  of  production  has  no  apparent 
limit.  When  the  harmonious  adjustment  of  international 
trade  shall  ultimately  be  established  by  "  The  Parliament 
of  Man  "  in  "  The  Federation  of  the  World,"  the  power 
of  production  and  the  power  of  consumption  will  proper 
ly  balance  each  other ;  but  in  traversing  the  long  road 
and  enduring  the  painful  process  by  which  that  end  shall 
be  reached,  the  protectionist  claims  that  his  theory  of 
revenue  preserves  the  new  nations  from  being  devoured 
by  the  older,  and  offers  to  Human  labor  a  shield  against 
the  actions  of  capital." 

In  regard  to  civil-service  reform,  Mr.  Elaine's  position 
is  thus  defined  by  Senator  Mitchell  of  Pennsylvania,  one 
of  the  most  bitter  opponents  of  the  use  of  government 
patronage  for  political  purposes.  Senator  Mitchell  says  : 

"  Early  in  1882  I  had  a  talk  with  Mr.  Elaine  relative 
to  the  necessity  for  the  passage  of  a  law  to  reform  the 
civil  service.  At  that  time  I  was  a  member  of  the  Civil- 
Service  Committee,  and  I  had  the  same  deep  interest  in 
the  subject  that  I  still  feel.  I  saw  impending  trouble  for 
the  party  in  Pennsylvania  growing  out  of  the  deliberate 
attempt  of  the  politicians  to  thwart  the  will  of  the  people, 
and  I  felt  convinced  that  the  enactment  of  a  law  placing 


240          ELAINE'S  VIEWS  ON  IMPOETANT  TOPICS. 

the  appointment  of  subordinate  government  officials 
beyond  the  power  of  the  favorites  of  the  administration 
was  essential  to  the  maintenance  of  the  supremacy  of  the 
Republican  party.  At  this  time  you  could  have  counted 
upon  the  fingers  of  one  hand  all  the  Senators  who  would 
have  voted  for  the  passage  of  such  a  civil-service 
law  as  we  now  enjoy.  Then  it  was  that  I  talked  with 
Mr.  Elaine  on  the  subject,  and  to  my  gratification  he 
expressed  himself  in  the  strongest  terms  in  favor  of  the 
enactment  of  a  law  regulating  appointments  to  office.  It 
was  not  until  the  political  earthquake  of  1882,  when  the 
people  expressed  their  emphatic  disapproval  of  machine 
methods,  that  the  Republicans  were  aroused  to  the  neces- 
ity  for  passing  a  civil-service  bill.  Mr.  Elaine  was  then 
far  in  advance  of  the  great  majority  of  the  Republican 
Senators  in  favor  of  this  reform,  and  it  is  a  fact  that  I 
think  the  independent  voters  of  the  country  should  under 
stand." 

The  following,  on  the  same  subject,  is  from  Harper's 
Weekly,  of  Sept.  23,  1882 : 

"  The  speeches  of  Mr.  Elaine  in  Maine  and  of 
Senator  Harrison  in  Indiana,  with  the  brief  and  unmis 
takable  order  of  Mayor  Low  in  Brooklyn,  relieving  every 
employe*  of  all  fear  of  the  local  Hubbell,  and  the  signifi 
cant  declaration  of  more  than  a  thousand  leading  citi 
zens  of  Massachusetts  of  all  parties  that  they  will  vote 
for  no  Representative  in  Congress  whose  character  and 


ELAINE'S  VIEWS  ON  IMPORTANT  TOPICS.  241 

record  do  not  promise  an  earnest  and  agressive  action  for 
reform,  are  all  unmistakable  signs  of  a  public  conviction 
and  purpose  which  will  certainly  have  their  way. 
.  .  Mr.  Elaine  pronounced  plainly  for  some  kind  of  re 
form,  and  Mr.  Elaine  said  in  detail  that  he  should  be 
glad  to  see  every  Federal  officer,  however  honorable  his 
position,  appointed  for  a  specific  term,  during  which  he 
could  not  be  removed  except  for  causes  to  be  specified, 
proved,  and  recorded,  and  for  subordinate  officers  he 
thought  that  seven  years  would  be  a  proper  term  of 
office." 


CHAPTER     XV. 


LOGAN  IN  THE  CHICAGO  CONVENTION. 

The  Illinois  Delegation  Firmly  Resolved  to  Make  Senator  Logan 
the  Republican  Candidate  for  the  Presidency. — The  Enthusiasm  in 
the  Convention  for  "The  Greatest  of  the  Civilian  Generals  of  the 
War." — Senator  Cullom's  Nominating  Speech. —  General  Prentiss 
Seconds  the  Nomination. —  Firm  Support  on  Three  Ballots,  but 
Logan's  Strength  Transferred  to  Elaine  on  the  Fourth,  by  his  Own 
Orders. — Nominated  for  Vice-President  by  Senator  Plumb,  and  the 
Nomination  Numerously  Seconded. —  Declared  the  Candidate  by  a 
Unanimous  Vote. 

JOHN  A.  LOGAN,  the  patriot,  congressman,  soldier, 
senator,  and  popular  leader,  had  been  in  the  minds  of  a 
multitude  during  many  months  preceding  the  Republican 
Convention  which  opened  in  Chicago  on  June  3,  1884,  as 
a  suitable  man  for  first  place  on  the  Republican  ticket 
for  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1884,  and  as  an  intro 
duction  to  a  sketch  of  his  career,  an  account  of  his 
nomination  as  the  Republican  candidate  for  Yice-Presi- 
dent  will  possess  interest  and  value.  Said  the  New  York 
Times,  on  the  day  after  the  Chicago  Convention  ad- 

(242) 


PORTRAIT    OF    GEN.  JOHN    A.    LOGAN,   REPUBLICAN    CANDI 
DATE    FOR    VICE-PRESIDENT. 


LOGAN  IN  THE  CHICAGO  CONVENTION.       245 

journed :  "  The  record  of  his  service  in  the  Union  Army 
perhaps  entitles  him  to  be  called  the  greatest  of  the 
civilian  generals  of  the  war."  It  is  not  strange  that  the 
memory  of  a  brilliant  soldier  inspired  in  a  vast  number 
of  the  survivors  of  the  2,772,866  men  who  enlisted  in 
the  Union  Army  a  desire  to  see  him  elevated  to  the 
highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people,  and  that  an  exhi 
bition,  on  both  floors  of  Congress,  of  the  same  fearless 
courage  and  masterly  sagacity  which  he  displayed  in 
war  secured  sympathy  for  that  desire  among  a  great 
mass  of  the  people  who  had  no  enthusiasm  begotten  of 
military  experience. , 

THE   ILLINOIS   DELEGATION. 

The  Illinois  delegation  contained  forty  men  who 
entered  the  convention  with  a  firm  determination  to 
make  John  A.  Logan  the  Republican  candidate  for  the 
Presidency,  and  when,  on  Thursday  evening,  June  5th,  a 
call  of  the  States  in  alphabetical  order  for  nominations 
was  made,  the  name  of  Illinois  brought  Senator  Cullom 
to  his  feet,  about  four  thousand  voices  indulged  in  the 
exclamation,  "  Ah  !  ah !  ah !  "  as  he  walked  down  the 
aisle  toward  the  platform,  coolly  buttoning  up  the  buttons 
of  his  coat,  and  as  he  mounted  the  platform  he  was 
received  with  a  fresh  volley  of  yells,  which  died  out  and 
were  renewed  again  as  he  confronted  the  audience  from 
the  speaker's  desk. 


246  LOGAN  TN  THE  CHICAGO  CONVENTION. 

SENATOR  CULLOM'S  NOMINATING  SPEECH. 

He  presented  the  name  of  John  A.  Logan  in  the 
following  words : 

"Mr.  President  and  gentlemen  of  the  Convention: 
Twenty-four  years  ago  the  Second  National  Convention  of 
the  Republican  party  met  in  this  city  and  nominated  its 
first  successful  candidate  for  President  of  the  United 
State's,  Abraham  Lincoln.  Abraham  Lincoln  led  the 
Republican  party  to  its  first  great  victory,  and  stands 
to-day  in  the  estimation  of  the  world  as  the  grandest 
figure  and  most  majestic  figure  in  all  modern  time. 
Again  in  1868  another  Republican  Convention  came 
together  in  this  city  and  nominated  as  its  candidate  for 
President  of  the  United  States  another  eminent  citizen 
of  Illinois,  Gen.  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  and  the  Republican 
party  was  again  victorious.  Still  again  in  1880  the 
Republican  party  turned  its  face  toward  this  political 
Mecca  where  two  successful  campaigns  had  been  organ 
ized,  and  the  martyred  Garfield  led  the  Republican  hosts 
to  another  glorious  victory.  Mr.  President  and  fellow- 
citizens,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here.  There  are  omens 
of  victory  in  the  air.  History  repeats  itself.  There  are 
promises  of  triumph  to  the  Republican  party  in  holding 
its  National  Nominating  Convention  in  this  great  empo 
rium  of  the  Northwest. 

"  The  Commonwealth  of  Illinois,  which  has  never 
wavered  in  its  devotion  to  Republican  principles  since  it 


LOGAN   IN  THE   CHICAGO   CONVENTION.  247 

gave  to  the  Nation — aye,  to  the  world — the  illustrious 
Lincoln,  has  commissioned  me,  through  its  Republican 
voters,  to  present  to  this  convention  for  its  consideration 
as  the  standard-bearer  of  the  Republican  party  another 
son  of  Illinois,  one  whose  name  will  be  recognized  from 
one  end  of  this  land  to  the  other  as  that  of  an  able  states 
man,  a  brilliant  soldier,  and  an  honest  man,  Gen.  John 
A.  Logan,  of  Illinois. 

"  He  is  a  native  of  the  State  which  he  now  represents  in 
the  councils  of  the  nation.  Reared  among  the  youth  of 
a  section  where  every  element  of  manhood  is  early 
brought  into  play,  he  is  eminently  a  man  of  the  people, 
identified  with  them  in  interest,  in  taste,  and  in  feeling, 
and  enjoying  their  sympathy,  respect,  and  confidence. 
The  safety,  the  permanency,  and  the  prosperity  of  the 
nation  depend  upon  the  courage,  the  integrity,  the  intel 
ligence,  and  the  loyalty  of  its  citizens.  When  yonder 
starry  flag  was  assailed  by  enemies  in  arms,  when  the 
integrity  of  the  Union  was  imperiled  by  organized  treason, 
when  the  storm  of  war  threatened  the  very  life  of  this 
nation,  this  gallant  son  of  the  Prairie  State  resigned  his 
seat  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  returned  to 
his  home,  and  was  among  the  first  of  our  citizens  to  raise 
a  regiment  and  march  to  the  front  in  defense  of  his 
country.  Like  Douglas,  he  believed  that  in  time  of  war 
men  must  be  either  patriots  or  traitors,  and  he  threw 
his  mighty  influence  on  the  side  of  the  Union,  and  Illi- 


248  LOGAN   IN   THE   CHICAGO    CONVENTION. 

nois  made  a  record  second  to  none  in  the  history  of 
States  in  the  struggle  to  preserve  this  Government. 

"  Among  the  large  number  of  the  brave  soldiers  of  the 
late  war  whose  names  are  proudly  written  on  the  scroll 
of  fame  none  appear  more  grandly  than  the  name  of 
Logan.  His  history  is  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  bat 
tles  of  Belmont,  of  Donelson,  of  Sliiloh,  of  Vicksburg, 
of  Lookout  Mountain,  of  Atlanta,  and  of  the  famous 
March  to  the  Sea.  He  never  lost  a  battle.  I  repeat 
again,  Mr.  President  and  fellow-citizens,  he  never  lost  a 
battle  in  all  the  struggles  of  the  war.  When  there  was 
fighting  to  be  done  he  did  not  wait  for  orders,  neither  did 
he  fail  to  obey  orders  when  received.  His  plume,  like 
the  white  plume  of  Henry  of  Navarre,  was  always  to  be 
seen  at  the  point  where  the  battle  raged  the  hottest. 
During  the  long  struggle  of  four  years  he  commanded  by 
authority  of  the  Government  first  a  regiment,  then  a 
brigade,  then  a  division,  then  an  army  corps,  and  finally 
an  army.  He  remained  in  the  service  until  the  war 
closed,  when  at  the  head  of  his  army,  with  the  scars  of 
battle  upon  him,  he  marched  into  the  capital  of  the 
nation,  and,  with  the  brave  men  whom  he  had  led  on  a 
hundred  hard-fought  fields,  he  was  mustered  out  of  serv 
ice  under  the  very  shadow  of  the  Capitol  Building  which 
he  had  left  four  years  before  as  a  member  of  Congress 
to  go  out  and  fight  the  battles  of  his  country. 

"  Then,  when  the  war  was  over,  and  gentle  peace,  which 


LOGAN  IN  THE  CHICAGO  CONVENTION.       249 

4  hath  her  victories/  returned,  he  was  again  called  by 
his  fellow-citizens  to  take  his  place  in  the  councils  of  the 
nation.  In  a  service  of  twenty  years  in  both  Houses  of 
Congress  he  lias  shown  himself  to  be  no  less  able  and 
distinguished  as  a  statesman  than  he  was  renowned  as  a 
soldier.  Cautious,  prudent,  conservative  in  the  advocacy 
of  measures  involving  the  public  welfare,  ready  and  elo 
quent  in  debate,  fearless — yes,  I  repeat  again,  fearless — 
in  defense  of  the  rights  of  the  weak  against  the  oppres 
sions  of  the  strong,  he  stands  to-day — and  I  say  it  with 
out  disposition  to  pluck  one  laurel  from  the  brow  of  any 
man  whose  name  may  be  presented  to  this  convention — 
I  say  he  stands  to-day  in  my  judgment  closer  to  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  of  this  country  than  almost  any 
other  man  now  engaging  public  attention.  No  man  has 
done  more  in  defense  of  those  principles  which  have 
given  life,  and  spirit,  and  victory  to  the  Republican  party 
than  has  John  A.  Logan  of  Illinois.  In  all  that  goes  to 
make  up  a  brilliant  military  and  civil  career,  and  to 
commend  a  man  to  the  favor  of  the  people,  he,  whose 
name  we  have  presented  here  to-night,  has  shown  him 
self  to  be  the  peer  of  the  best. 

"  We  ask  you,  therefore,  to  give  him  this  nomination, 
because  he  would  not  be  assailed  and  he  is  not  assailable. 
We  ask  you  to  nominate  him  because  his  public  record 
is  so  clean  that  even  political  calumny  dare  not  attack 
it.  We  ask  you  to  nominate  him  in  behalf  of  the  hun- 


250  LOGAN   IN   THE   CHICAGO    CONVENTION. 

dreds  of  thousands  of  brave  veteran  volunteer  soldiers 
who  are  to-night,  all  over  this  broad  land,  standing 
around  the  telegraph  offices  waiting  to  know  whether 
that  gallant  leader  of  the  volunteer  soldiers  of  this 
country  is  to  receive  the  nomination  at  your  hands. 
We  ask  you  to  nominate  him  in  behalf  of  the  white  and 
black  Republicans  of  the  South  who  are  here  by  the 
hundreds  appealing  to  this  convention,  as  the  representa 
tive  of  our  grand  old  party,  to  give  your  protection  and 
to  vindicate  them  in  their  rights  in  the  South. 

"ftow,  my  friends,  standing  in  the  midst  of  this  vast 
assembly  of  representative  citizens  of  this  grand  Republic 
— aye,  in  the  sublime  presence  of  the  people  themselves, 
represented  here  to-night  in  all  their  majesty — we  offer 
you  the  name  of  a  tried  hero  and  patriot,  the  sagacious 
and  incorruptible  statesman,  the  man  who,  as  we  all 
know,  never  sulked  in  his  tent ;  we  offer  you  General 
John  A.  Logan  of  Illinois,  and  ask  you  to  make  him 
your  nominee.  If  you  will  give  him  the  nomination  he 
will  give  you  a  glorious  victory  in  November  next ;  and 
when  he  shall  have  taken  his  position  as  President  of 
this  great  Republic  you  may  be  assured  you  will  have  an 
administration  in  the  interest  of  labor,  in  the  interest 
of  education,  in  the  interest  of  commerce,  in  the  interest 
of  finance,  in  the  interest  of  peace  at  home  and  peace 
abroad,  and  in  the  interest  of  the  prosperity  of  this  great 
people." 


LOGAN   IN   THE   CHICAGO    CONVENTION.  251 

SECONDED   BY  GENERAL   B.    M.    PRENTISS   OF   MISSOURI. 

Senator  Cullom  was  frequently  interrupted  by  applause, 
and  when  his  tall  form  disappeared  the  slight  figure  of 
General  Prentiss  ascended  the  platform,  and  in  a  tremu 
lous  tenor  voice,  which  one  of  the  correspondents 
described  as  like  Niobe,  "all  tears,"  he  seconded  the 
nomination  in  the  following  words  : 

"  Mr.  Chairman  : — It  is  a  great  pleasure  for  me  to  stand 
here  to-night  to  second  the  nomination  just  made  from 
a  State  in  which  I  have  resided  for  forty-one  years.  It 
is  a  glorious  privilege  for  me  to  stand  before  this  con 
vention  and  say  a  word  or  two  by  way  of  seconding  the 
nomination  of  a  man  pursuing  his  own  course,  endowed 
with  energy,  until  to-day  he  is  the  equal  of  any  of  the 
great  statesmen  of  our  land;  a  man  pursuing  his  own 
course,  from  poverty  up,  until  to-night  he  is  reaching  for 
the  highest  round  of  fame  known  to  earth — that  of 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America;  a  man  who, 
upon  the  field  of  battle,  led  his  comrades  always  to 
victory ;  a  man  who  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States, 
when  the  bold  enemy  of  this  country,  combined  with 
timid  allies,  sought  to  annul  the  solemn  findings  of  an 
honored  court,  stepped  boldly  to  the  front  and  cried  loud 
and  long :  i  Hold,  in  your  infamous  efforts  to  place  a 
cloud  upon  the  reputation  of  a  Lincoln  and  a  Garfield.' 
0,  it  is  glorious  that  I  am  here  to-night.  I  dare  not 
speak  what  I  feel,  but,  dear  friends,  how  I  love  the  man 


252  LOGAN   IN   THE    CHICAGO    CONVENTION. 

that  stood  by  the  reputation  of  the  dead  when  there 
were  but  three  living  ones  whose  reputations  had  been 
assailed,  and  your  speaker  at  this  moment  one  of  the 
living.  A  man  who  has  been  my  friend ;  a  man  who 
has  been  the  friend  of  humanity ;  a  man  who  led  the 
Army  of  the  Tennessee  on  to  Washington  and  there 
mustered  it  out  of  service ;  a  man  whose  star  upon  his 
shoulder  shone  brighter  and  brighter  as  he  moved  on ; 
that  man  was  John  A.  Logan,  the  favorite  son  of  Illi 
nois  ;  the  favorite  of  the  Mississippi  Valley ;  the  favorite 
of  the  West,  and  you,  gentlemen,  if  you  knew  him  as 
we  know  him — you  of  the  East — would  learn  to  love 
him.  He  is  a  man  in  a  position  to-day  to  lead  on  again 
to  victory. 

"  Why,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  enter 
tain  the  idea  for  a  moment  that  this  great  Republican 
party  is  to  be  defeated.  No  !  Whoever  we  nominate  is 
to  be  the  President — whoever  we  select.  I  ask  you, 
to-night,  I  ask  you  as  a  friend,  I  ask  you  as  one  repre 
senting  those  who  have  been  true  to  the  party  for  twenty- 
eight  years — one  who  has  stood  by  it  in  all  its  perils — 
one  who  has  never  yet  forsaken  it  at  any  time ;  I  ask 
you — oh !  I  appeal  to  you  in  this  convention,  consider 
well  and  make  the  best  nomination  you  possibly  can.  I 
ask  you  in  behalf  of  the  cripples  of  this  land  ;  I  ask  you 
in  behalf  of  all  those  soldiers  of  this  country ;  I  ask  you 
in  behalf  of  men  pleading  to-day  with  this  nation  for 


LOGAN  IN  THE  CHICAGO  CONVENTION.       253 

aid  ;  I  ask  you  in  behalf  of  the  children  of  this  country ; 
I  ask  you  in  behalf  of  humanity  to  give  the  nomination 
to  John  A.  Logan  of  Illinois. 

"  When  Epaminondas,  at  the  battle  of  Mantinea,  I 
believe  it  was  at  the  battle  of  Mantinea — received  his 
death-wound,  his  officer  uplifted  him  to  the  heights  above 
where  he  could  look  over  the  field.  They  cried  when 
they  perceived  him.  '  Oh  !  why  do  you  weep  ? '  he  said 
to  them.  i  Weep  not,  dear  friends ;  you  are  not  help 
less.  Do  I  not  leave  you  two  daughters,  Leuctra  and 
Mantinea  ? ' 

"  Ah,  John  A.  Logan  leaves  more  daughters  than  that. 
On  this  Western  field  of  battle  he  leaves  you  monuments 
of  his  greatness.  And  to-night  the  people  of  Illinois, 
that  love  the  man,  ask  of  you  to  come  and  help  us  recog 
nize  the  services  of  the  brightest  star  in  the  galaxy  of 
the  volunteers  of  the  army.  I  second  the  nomination  of 
John  A.  Logan." 

THE   LOGAN   GUARD   STANDS   FIRM. 

Forty  Illinois  delegates  cast  their  votes  to  put  Logan's 
name  at  the  head  of  the  ticket  on  the  first,  the  second, 
and  the  third  ballots,  but  a  sensation  was  caused  in  the 
convention  when  it  was  rumored  that  the  Logan  vote 
would  be  transferred  to  Elaine  on  the  next  ballot.  His 
friends  were  unwilling  to  yield  in  the  struggle  for  first 
place  until  instructed  by  their  chief,  but  such  instruction 


254  LOGAN   IN   THE   CHICAGO    CONVENTION. 

had  been  received  by  Senator  Cullom,  in  the  following 
telegram  from  Washington : 

* '  The  Hon.  8.  M.  Cullom  and  Illinois  Delegation,  Convention  Hatty 
Chicago,  III.:  The  Republicans  of  the  States  that  must  be  relied 
upon  to  elect  the  President  having  so  strongly  shown  a  preference 
for  Mr.  Blaine,  I  deem  it  my  duty  not  to  stand  in  the  way  of  the 
people's  choice,  and  recommend  my  friends  to  assist  in  his  nomina 
tion. 

"JOHN  A.  LOGAN." 

"This  dispatch  accurately  represents  my  position," 
,said  Senator  Logan,  in  explaining  his  action  to  a  friend. 
"  Seeing  that  the  Republicans  of  the  States  which  must 
elect  the  President  had  shown  a  decided  preference  to 
Mr.  Blaine,  I  felt  it  to  be  my  duty  as  a  Republican  not  to 
stand  in  the  way  of  the  people's  choice,  or  to  pursue  a 
dog-in-the-manger  policy  by  remaining  in  the  field  in  the 
hope  that  something  might  inure  to  my  own  benefit. 
Dispatches  at  the  time  were  coming  from  friends  of  mine 
saying  that  there  was  a  probability  of  a  break,  in  which 
event  my  chances  would  be  improved ;  but  I  deemed  it 
wise  and  proper  to  send  the  dispatch  which  I  did  send  at 
the  time  when  I  sent  it.  My  vote  was  then  more  than 
sixty.  Mr.  Blaine  needed  but  forty-five  to  nominate  him. 
I  knew  that  if  my  friends  acceded  to  my  wishes  Mr. 
Blaine  could  be  nominated  at  my  request,  and  I  was  quick 
to  get  that  dispatch  there.  I  am  very  glad  that  my 
friends  did  at  once  transfer  their  strength  to  Mr.  Blaine. 


LOO  AN  IN  THE  CHICAGO  CONVENTION.       255 

I  should  have  been  greatly  disappointed  if  they  had  not. 
And,"  continued  Logan,  musingly,  "I  am  glad  that 
Elaine  has  got  it." 

NOMINATED    FOB   VICE-PRESIDENT. 

When  the  roll  of  States  was  called  for  the  nomination 
of  candidates  for  Vice-President,  Senator  Plumb  of  Kan* 
sas,  presented  the  name  of  Logan  in  the  following  words : 

"Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  :  This 
convention  has  already  discharged  two  of  the  most 
serious  obligations  which  rested  upon  it — the  adoption  of 
a  platform  and  the  nomination  of  a  candidate  for  the 
Presidency.  The  platform  is  one  upon  which  all  good 
Republicans  and  all  good  citizens  can  unite,  and  of  which 
they  can  well  be  proud.  The  candidate  for  the  Presidency 
needs  no  eulogium  from  me,  and  I  can  also  saj*  for  him 
that  he  can  meet  any  man  in  the  Democratic  party, 
whether  that  man  be  dead  or  alive.  Upon  that  state 
ment  it  might  seem  a  matter  of  comparative  indifference 
as  to  who  should  fill  the  second  place  ;  but,  Mr.  President 
and  gentlemen,  there  is  such  a  thing  as  proportion.  Hav 
ing  nominated  a  statesman  of  approved  reputation,  a  man 
of  whom  we  are  all  proud,  we  owe  It  to  the  party  to 
nominate  the  best  and  most  available  man  we  have  for 
the  second  place. 

"  Mr.  President,  this  is  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 

the  Republican  party  since  the  War  when  the  man  who 
11 


256  LOGAN   IN   THE   CHICAGO    CONVENTION 

is  to  fill  the  first  place  is  not  a  soldier.  There  are  a  mil 
lion  men  yet  living  who  served  their  country  in  the  late 
war.  And  now,  Mr.  President,  twenty  years  after  the 
lapse  of  that  war  they  are  bound  together  by  ties  as 
strong  as  they  ever  were  while  serving  under  arms,  and 
the  great  brotherhood  of  the  soldiers  of  the  United 
States  is  one  of  the  most  important  factors  in  the  social 
and  political  life  of  the  American  Republic.  It  is  due 
not  as  a  matter  of  availability,  but  as  a  matter  of  just 
recognition  to  that  great  body  of  soldiery  who  made  the 
Republican  party  possible,  that  a  fit  representative  of 
theirs  should  have  the  second  place  upon  the  team — a 
man  who,  wise  within  himself,  has  not  only  the  qualities 
of  a  soldier,  but  also  the  qualities  of  a  statesman — 
because  the  American  people  are  becoming  more  consid 
erate  of  the  second  place  upon  the  national  ticket,  and 
it  is  a  matter  of  grave  concern  that  the  man  to  be  chosen 
shall  be  fit  to  step  into  the  shoes  of  the  man  in  the  first 
place. 

"  Mr.  President,  as  I  said,  if  it  were  only  a  question  of 
electing  a  ticket  we  might  nominate  anybody.  But  it  is 
more  than  that.  It  is  not  only  a  question  of  carrying 
and  electing  a  President  and  Vice-President,  but  it  is  a 
question  of  the  election  of  a  majority  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  Congress.  It  is  a  question  of  reha 
bilitating  States  where  the  Legislatures  have  been  lost, 
and  consequently  Representatives  in  the  Senate  have  been 


LOGAN   IN  THE   CHICAGO   CONVENTION.  257 

equally  lost.  You  want  especially  to  strengthen  this 
ticket,  if  so  it  may  be,  by  adding  to  it  a  man  who  has  his 
representatives  in  all  portions  of  this  broad  land,  in  every 
township,  in  every  school  district,  in  every  Representative 
district,  and  in  every  county,  in  order  that  the  ticket  may 
be  carried  to  the  farthest  confines  of  the  Republic,  and 
its  remotest  places,  with  that  good-will  and  recognition 
which  will  make  sure  of  a  full  vote. 

"  "We  have  come  to  that  point  since  the  war  when  the 
kindly  feeling  growing  out  of  association  has  come  to  be 
a  power,  and  out  of  that  kindly  feeling  has  grown  the 
organization  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  which 
has  now  in  its  communion  mo^e  than  three-fourths  of 
the  men  who  lately  wore  the  blue.  They  are  Republicans 
because  the  Republican  party  is  true  to  them,  to  their 
interests,  and  to  all  those  things  for  which  they  fought 
and  sacrificed  ;  and  it  is  only  just  and  proper  that,  in 
making  tickets  and  in  making  platforms,  we  should  recog 
nize  that  great  body  of  honorable  and  self-sacrificing 
men. 

"  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen,  in  presenting  to  you  a 
candidate  I  shall  present  one  to  you  who  I  believe  fills  all 
the  qualifications  necessary  for  even  the  first  place  upon 
this  ticket ;  a  man  whose  military  and  civil  record  will 
not  be  obscured  by  even  so  brilliant  a  one  as  that  of  the 
head  of  the  ticket.  That  is  the  kind  of  a  man  that  we 
want — a  man  tried  in  war  and  in  peace,  a  man  who  has 
in  every  capacity  in  which  he  has  been  tried  so  acted  that 


258  LOGAN   IN   THE   CHICAGO    CONVENTION. 

to-day  his  name  and  fame  are  a  part  of  the  proud  heritage 
of  the  American  people.  By  the  terms  of  your  resolu 
tion  you  have  abridged  that  which  I  would  say,  but  it  is 
enough  for  me  to  say  that  the  man  whom  I  present  for 
your  consideration,  believing  that  he  will  add  strength  to 
the  ticket,  and  believing  that  he  will  justify  the  words  I 
have  spoken,  is  Gen.  John  A.  Logan  of  Illinois. 

"  His  reputation  is  no  more  the  property  of  Illinois  than 
it  is  of  Kansas ;  but  there  are  75,000  ex-soldiers  of  the 
late  war  upon  the  prairies  of  Kansas  who,  with  one  accord, 
when  they  hear  of  the  nomination  of  John  A.  Logan, 
will  rise  up  and  endorse  it  and  ratify  it.  I  know  Illinois 
begrudges  him  to  the  country  ;  like  Hosea  Bigelow's  wife, 
they  want  him  for  home  consumption.  But,  Mr.  President, 
it  is  a  command  which  we  have  a  right  to  lay  upon  them, 
and  I  know  that  in  Illinois,  with  that  command  upon 
them,  they  will  do  as  Gen.  Logan  would  do  himself.  He 
obeys  the  duty  and  obligation  of  party,  the  command  of 
the  party  and  country  ;  and,  in  fact,  he  never  disobeyed 
but  one  order,  and  that  was  when  he  disobeyed  an  order 
not  to  fight  a  battle. 

"  Therefore,  in  behalf  of  the  ex-soldiers  of  the  Union, 
in  behalf  of  the  State  of  Kansas,  by  whom  I  am  com 
missioned  for  this  purpose,  and  in  behalf  generally  of 
the  great  body  of  the  Republican  party  of  the  U"nion  who 
admire  and  esteem  this  man,  I  present  his  name  for  your 
consideration,  and  hone  that  he  may  receive  the  nomina 
tion  at  your  hands." 


LOGAN  IN  THE  CHICAGO  CONVENTION.       259 
THE  NOMINATION  REPEATEDLY  SECONDED. 

Judge  Houck  of  Tennessee,  "  as  a  Representative  of 
that  part  of  the  country  where  two  Congressional  Dis 
tricts,  the  first  and  second  of  Tennessee,  gave  more  sol 
diers  to  fight  under  the  flag  than  any  two  other  districts 
in  the  United  States  of  America,"  seconded  the  nomina 
tion  in  a  speech,  during  which  he  said  :  "  The  truth  is, 
there  ought  not  to  be  any  other  nomination.  John  A.» 
Logan  ought  to  be  nominated  by  acclamation." 

Mr.  Thurston  of  Nebraska,  demanded  that  "  the  invin 
cible  names  of  Elaine  and  Logan  be  inscribed  upon  the 
banner  of  the  Republican  party  for  this  glorious  cam 
paign  ; "  Mr.  Lee  of  Pennsylvania,  seconded  "  the  nom 
ination  of  a  man  for  V ice-President  who  was  fit  to  be 
President  of  the  United  States,  on  behalf  of  the  great 
middle  States  ; "  Mr.  Horr,  the  witty  Michigan  Congress 
man,  "  in  behalf  of  that  large  army  of  us  men  who  staid 
at  home  during  the  war,  and  at  the  request  of  the  State 
of  Michigan,"  declared  that  in  selecting  Logan  "  we  will 
light  the  camp-fire  among  the  soldiers  of  the  country  from 
one  end  of  this  nation  to  the  other;"  Mr.  Daney  asserted 
that  Elaine  and  Logan  would  carry  North  Carolina  "  by 
5,000  majority;  although  the  Democrats  had  300  majority 
two  years  ago,"  and  a  dozen  or  more  other  delegates  sup 
ported  the  nomination  in  speeches  which  were  inter 
spersed  with  calls  for  a  vote  by  acclamation,  until  by  al 
most  an  unanimous  vote  the  rules  were  suspended,  and 
Logan  was  pronounced  the  choice  of  the  convention 
without  a  dissenting  voice. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


LOGAN  IN  EARLY  LIFE. 

His  Appearance  as  a  Boy  Conjectured  from  his  Appearance  as  a 
Man. — No  Indian  Blood  in  his  Veins. — A  Lady  Correspondent's  Por 
trait  of  Him. — His  Parents,  and  His  Early  Home  in  Southern  Illi 
nois. — His  Father  an  Irishman  and  His  Mother  a  Tennesseean  of 
Scotch  Descent. — Professor  Thomas,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute, 
Relates  Incidents  of  Logan's  Boyhood. — He  goes  to  Mill  and  Waits 
for  a  Belt  to  be  Made. — His  Notice  to  Squirrels. — Logan's  Education. 
— A  College-Bred  Man. — Logan  in  the  Mexican  War. — Still  a  Boy, 
but  an  Officer. — Logan  as  a  Young  Lawyer  and  Politician. — His  Nat 
ural  Eloquence. 

The  boy  is  father  to  the  man,  and  perhaps  it  will  con 
vey  a  vivid  impression  as  to  what  John  Alexander  Logan 
must  have  been  as  a  boy  to  describe  his  appearance  as  a 
man.  He  is  remarkable,  not  only  for  his  career,  but 
also  for  his  physique.  Tall  and  solidly  built,  he  carries 
himself  with  the  erectness  of  a  soldier,  and  although  fifty- 
eight  years  of  age,  his  hair,  which  he  wears  long,  and  his 
prodigious  mustache,  are  jet  black.  So  are  his  eyes,  which 
are  keen  and  piercing,  while  his  complexion  is  as  swarthy 
as  that  of  an  Indian.  Strangers  visiting  Washington 

(260) 


LOGAN   IN   EARLY  LIFE.  261 

never  require  to  have  him  "  pointed  out."  There  is  no 
mistaking  the  eagle  eye,  raven  hair,  and  swarthy  com 
plexion  which  made  the  soldiers  of  the  late  war  call  him 
"  Black  Jack  "  and  so  many  white  folks  declare  him  an 
Indian.  Purer  Caucasian  blood  never  flowed  through 
any  man's  veins ;  his  remarkable  physique  is  the  source 
whence  all  these  wild  stories  originated.  A  Washington 
lady  correspondent  says  of  him  :  "  Towering  above  the 
middle  height,  of  dignified  soldierly  proportion,  with 
clear-cut,  classic  features,  he  is  not  only  one  of  the  most 
distinguished,  but  one  of  the  handsomest,  men  on  the 
Senate  floor ;  and  the  most  wonderful  of  all  in  his  per 
sonal  appearance  is  the  part  expression  lends  'to  his 
countenance.  His  feelings  and  moods  are  mirrored 
there  as  distinctly  as  the  seasons  are  stamped  on  the 
landscape." 

While  Logan  dresses  neatly,  there  is  a  certain  air  of 
negligence  about  the  fitting  and  style  of  his  coat  and 
vest  and  flaring  necktie,  which  suggests  that  his  costume 
occupies  little  of  his  mind.  He  wears  a  black  frock 
coat,  a  low  cut  vest,  and  black  trousers  which  are  a 
compromise  between  the  extremes  of  fashion,  and  there 
fore  always  in  good  form  without  material  change  of 
model.  The  ample  shirt-bosom  displayed  is  always 
smooth  and  fresh,  which  cannot  be  said  of  all  other  Sen 
ators. 


262  LOGAN   IN   EARLY   LIFE. 

HIS   PARENTS   AND   EARLY   HOME. 

"The  story  that  he  has  Indian  blood  in  his  veins/' 
says  one  writer,  "  is  a  myth,  founded  upon  the  color  of 
his  skin  and  hair,  and  is  totally  untrue,  unless  the  fabled 
Kings  of  Ireland  were  related  to  the  North  American 
savage."  Dr.  John  Logan,  his  father,  was  a  physician 
and  surgeon  of  acknowledged  skill  and  extraordinary 
force  of  character,  and  belonged  to  an  excellent  family 
in  the  North  of  Ireland.  A  few  years  before  the  eldest 
of  his  eleven  children  was  born,  he  came  to  America, 
and  began  practice  as  a  physician  near  Murphysboro,  the 
capital  of  Jackson  county,  on  the  Big  Muddy  River,  in 
Southern  Illinois,  about  fifteen  miles  east  of  the  Missis 
sippi  river.  Although  his  birth  might  have  inclined  him 
to  aristocratic  pretensions,  he  was  perfectly  free  from 
such  traits,  and  he  entered  into  the  wild  life  of  the  new 
country  with  much  zest,  and  soon  won  the  favor  of  his 
neighborhood,  and  enjoyed  a  large  professional  practice. 
He  was  known  as  a  man  of  strict  integrity  and  high 
morals,  who  was  free  from  the  dissipations  so  common  on 
the  frontier  nearly  half  a  century  ago,  and  he  was  never 
heard  to  use  an  oath.  Although  democratic  in  his  tastes, 
he  yet  enjoyed  with  peculiar  satisfaction  the  society  of 
persons  of  superior  intelligence,  and  in  his  conversations 
with  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  ministers  who  stopped  at 
his  house  to  preach,  and  with  the  judges  who  frequently 
visited  him,  he  was  able  to  maintain  his  part  in  argu 
ment. 


LOGAN   IN   EARLY  LIFE.  263 

His  hospitality  was  generous  and  he  took  delight  in 
the  exhibition  to  his  guests  of  his  fine  grounds,  horses, 
and  hounds.  He  was  fond  of  the  chase,  and  he  was  gen 
erally  regarded  as  "  a  f oine  owld  Irish  gentleman,  one  of 
the  real  owld  kind."  His  sturdy  character  is  indicated  by 
an  incident  of  his  last  sickness,  in  1851.  Suffering  from 
an  abscess  of  the  liver,  from  which  he  died,  he  urged  his 
family  to  bring  a  mirror  and  assist  him  to  perform  the 
operation  upon  himself  by  which  he  thought  his  life 
might  be  saved. 

Dr.  Logan  married  Elizabeth  Jenkins,  a  member  of 
a  Tennessee  family  of  Scotch  descent,  as  his  second 
wife,  and  she  was  a  woman  of  extraordinary  force  of 
character,  although  very  quiet  in  manner.  She  was  tall 
and  stately,  and  the  erect-ness  of  her  form  was  notable 
up  to  the  time  of  her  death,  in  1877.  Her  distinguished 
son  owes  many  of  his  characteristics  to  her,  both  physi 
cal  and  mental,  and  her  intuitive  judgment  of  character, 
and  her  inflexible  purpose  when  once  her  resolution  had 
been  formed,  are  qualities  which  he  inherited,  and  which 
have  been  indispensable  to  him  in  his  career  as  a  soldier 
and  as  a  statesman.  She  was  much  beloved,  as  well  as 
respected, and  she  is  still  remembered  as  "  Mother  Logan" 
by  all  who  knew  her  in  the  home  of  her  son  during  the 
later  years  of  her  life. 

11* 


264  LOGAN   IN   EARLY  LIFE. 

INCIDENTS   OF  LOGAN'S   BOYHOOD. 

February  9,  1826,  is  the  date  of  Logan's  birth,  and 
from  his  infancy  it  was  the  cherished  desire  of  his  father 
to  see  this  first-born  of  the  family  a  physician.  Although 
in  early  manhood  he  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of 
medicine  for  a  time,  the  sick-room  was  not  a  congenial 
place  and  his  qualifications  were  for  a  different  life.  He 
was  taught  his  first  lessons  at  his  mother's  knee,  and 
his  early  years  woiM  uneventful,  but,  Professor  Thomas, 
the  entomologist,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  a  play 
mate  of  his  boyhood  and  afterward  the  husband  of  one 
of  his  sisters,  now  deceased,  narrates  several  incidents 
which,  while  they  are  amusing,  also  reveal  the  spirit  of 
the  boy  as  it  was  in  later  years  disclosed  to  the  world  in 
some  of  the  most  stirring  scenes  of  the  century. 

His  father's  farm  on  the  Big  Muddy  River  lay  half  a 
mile  from  the  grist-mill,  and  Professor  Thomas  recalls 
that  on  one  occasion,  while  yet  a  small  boy,  John  was 
sent  to  mill,  accompanied  by  one  of  the  colored  boys 
belonging  to  his  father's  estate,  Dr.  Logan  by  his  first 
marriage  having  become  possessed  of  a  number  of  slaves, 
afterward  manumitted  by  him.  He  reached  the  mill  in 
a  terrible  rain  storm,  and  all  took  shelter  under  the  open 
shed  which  covered  the  machinery.  This  mill,  like  the 
Mexican  arastra,  was  worked  by  a  horse  harnessed  to  a 
horizontal  shaft  or  pole  which  was  dragged  round  and 
round,  as  a  capstan-bar  is  imshed,  and  revolved  the  mill- 


LOGAN   IN   EARLY  LIIE.  265 

stones  by  means  of  hide  belting.  The  rain  beat  in  furi 
ously  and  the  belting  stretched  to  such  an  extent  that  it 
became  useless,  became  detached  from  the  shafting, 
and  fell  down.  The  boys  despairing  of  more  comforta 
ble  quarters  for  the  night  made  the  best  of  it  and  went 
to  sleep,  a  number  of  the  hounds  which  had  accompanied 
them,  at  their  feet.  When  morning  broke  and  the  mil 
ler  arrived  it  was  discovered  that  the  half-famished  dogs 
had  scented  out  the  rain-soaked  hide  belting  and  de 
voured  it !  The  miller  was  in  despair.  He  had  no  more 
belting  nor  could  lie  get  any.  Nothing  remained  for  him 
but  to  make  it  himself ;  and  young  Logan  and  his  col 
ored  companion  were  obliged  to  wait  there  for  three  or 
four  days  while  the  miller  killed  and  skinned  an  ox  and 
tanned  its  hide  for  a  new  belting ! 

The  incident  illustrates  not  only  young  Logan's  deter 
mination  not  to  turn  back  until  the  thing  he  undertook 
was  accomplished,  but  also  the  newness  and  the  rude 
ness  of  his  early  surroundings. 

Professor  Thomas  relates  that  when  the  lad  was  about 
ten  years  old  he  was  commissioned  by  his  father  to  stop 
the  depredations  of  squirrels  upon  his  cornfield.  A  road 
ran  by  the  field,  and  on  an  adjacent  tree  it  was  custo 
mary  to  pin  with  wooden  tacks  certain  public  notices  so 
that  passers  by  might  read  and  act  accordingly.  The 
boy  had  observed  this,  and,  either  because  he  was  averse 
to  the  tedious  task  of  watchman  or  because  he  believed 


206  LOGAN   IN    EARLY   LIFE. 

in  fair  play  for  the  squirrels,  as  lie  has  always  believed  in 
fair  play  for  his  fellow- men,  in  war  and  in  peace,  he 
made  use  of  the  tree  for  the  issue  of  a  proclamation.  A 
neighbor  riding  by  at  a  later  hour,  seeing  a  notice  pinned 
to  the  tree,  rode  up  to  it  and  to  his  astonishment  read 
the  following  in  a  large,  boyish  hand : 

"I  give  notice  to  all  the  squirrels  to  keep  out  of  this  corn-field. 
If  they  don't  keep  out  they  will  be  shot. 

"JOHN  A.  LOGAN." 

The  next  morning  he  was  on  hand  with  other  boys 
and  some  of  the  farm  hands  armed  with  shot-guns  to 
begin  the  work  of  extermination.  That  corn-field  was 
afterwards  covered  with  the  houses  of  Murphysboro,  and 
a  striking  similarity  is  traced  between  this  notice  and 
one  which  Logan  sent  to  some  persons  in  Southern  Illi 
nois,  who  wrote  to  him  both  coaxing  and  threatening 
letters  before  the  war,  urging  him  to  join  the  Knights  of 
the  Golden  Circle.  It  ran  thus  : 

"If  you  fellows  don't  keep  out  of  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Cir 
cle,  some  of  you  will  be  strung  up. 

"JOHN  A.  LOGAN." 

When  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age,  Professor  Thomas 
says,  young  Logan  took  it  into  his  head  to  build  a  flat-boat 
for  the  Muddy  River,  which  ran  near  the  paternal  farm. 
The  boat  was  duly  constructed  and  launched.  But  the 
Muddy  was  at  the  time  a  rapid  and  dangerous  stream, 


LOGAN   IN   EARLY   LIFE.  2G7 

and  when  it  came  to  a  question  of  who  would  pilot  the 
craft  all  the  others  were  afraid  to  venture.  But,  as  in 
his  subsequent  life,  he  never  hesitated  to  accept  respon 
sibilities,  so  now  the  fearless  boy  jumped  aboard  "and 
steered  her  out  in  safety. 

LOGAN'S  EDUCATION. 

"  I  never  could  understand,"  says  ono  who  knows 
Logan  well,  "  why  the  newspapers  should  bring  up  Logan's 
bad  grammar!  He  speaks  with  as  much  polish,  and  with 
more  force  than  the  most  of  us  ;  but  the  correspondents 
must  fill  their  columns  with  something,  and  this  kind  of 
spicy  badinage  seems  least  harmful.1  of  all." 

It  is  true  that  he  obtained  his  first  instruction  in  books 
from  his  father  and  mother  at  home,  and  that  the  advan 
tages  afforded  in  the  log-school  lesson  where  he  was  a  pupil 
for  a  limited  time  were  very  imperfect,  but  John  A.  Logan 
is  a  man  of  extensive  information,  and  has  thoroughly 
mastered  several  languages,  and  many  of  the  greatest 
works  of  literature.  Says  the  New  York  Tribune: 
"  General  Logan  fought  his  own  way  bravely  through 
college  with  what  help  a  hard-working  doctor  in  a  pioneer 
country  could  give  his  several  sons ;  was  graduated  hon 
orably,  studied  law  awhile  with  his  uncle,  and  then  was 
graduated  from  the  regular  law  school.  Perhaps  his 
English  may  sometimes  betray  traces  of  the  pioneer 
habits  of  a  third  of  a  century  ago  in  Southern  Illinois. 


268  LOGAN   IN   EARLY  LIFE. 

He  speaks  the  French  and  Spanish  languages,  is  an  en 
thusiast  in  Shakespeare,  of  which  he  can  repeat  whole 
plays  by  heart.  He  has  been  known  among  his  brother 
Senators  to  correct  a  Harvard  graduate  in  Latin  pro 
nunciation,  and  a  Williams  graduate  in  Shakespearean 
quotation,  and  his  familiar  acquaintance  with  modern 
tongues  is  reported  to  have  stood  in  the  breach  where 
other  Senators  faltered  and  fell." 

Major  Ben.  Perley  Poore,  the  noted  Washington  cor 
respondent,  when  asked  if  Logan  murders  the  King's 
English  replied :  "  No  !  his  language  compares  favora 
bly  with  that  of  other  Senators  in  debate."  When  seven 
teen  or  eighteen  years  old  Logan  became  a  student  in 
Shiloh  Academy,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Methodist 
Church,  and  he  remained  until  he  entered  the  Mexican 
war  nearly  three  years  later.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Louisville  Law  School,  where  he  attended  lectures  after 
his  return  from  Mexico,  taking  his  diploma  in  1851. 

IN   THE   MEXICAN   WAR. 

Logan's  experience  in  the  Mexican  war  belongs  to  the 
period  of  his  youth,  as  he  was  only  twenty  years  of  age 
when  he  left  college  to  become  a  soldier.  The  annexa 
tion  of  Texas  caused  an  immediate  rupture  with  Mexico, 
and  President  Herrera  of  that  Republic,  on  June  4, 
1846,  issued  a  proclamation  that  Mexico's  right  to  Texan 
territory  would  be  defended  by  arms.  In  July,  President 


LOGAN   IN   EARLY  LIFE.  269 

Polk  ordered  General  Zachary  Taylor  to  take  a  position 
as  near  the  Rio  Grande  as  prudence  would  allow,  and 
soon  after  the  struggle  began,  which  did  not  end  until 
General  Scott  marched  into  the  city  of  Mexico  and  pro 
claimed  the  conquest  of  the  Mexican  Republic,  in  1848. 
Logan  entered  the  army  as  a  lieutenant  of  company 
H,  First  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  served  his  coun 
try  in  Mexico  with  distinction  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end  of  the  war.  He  attained  the  position  of  acting- 
quartermaster  of  the  regiment  before  he  returned  to 
Illinois,  a  youth  who  had  barely  reached  his  majority. 

LOGAN   AS   A   YOUNG   LAWYER   AND   POLITICIAN. 

Returning  to  Murphysboro  after  the  war,  in  the  autumn 
of  1848,  Logan  began  to  study  law  in  the  office  of  his 
uncle,  Alexander  M.  Jenkins,  who  was  a  great  man  in 
Southern  Illinois,  a  Jacksonian  Democrat,  and  at  one 
time  Lieutenant-Governor  of  his  State. 

It  was  the  love  of  contest  that  took  him  at  once  into 
politics,  and  soon  he  was  elected  Clerk  of  Jackson  County. 
By  means  of  the  revenues  of  this  office  he  was  enabled 
to  carry  on  his  law  studies  and  took  a  course  of  lectures 
at  Louisville  University. 

Receiving  his  diploma  in  1851,  he  was  admitted  to  the 
Bar,  formed  a  partnership  with  his  uncle,  and  before  he 
had  been  a  year  in  practice  he  was  elected  Prosecuting 
Attorney  of  the  Third  Judicial  District  of  the  State. 


270  LOGAN  IN  EARLY  LIFE. 

He  then  lived  in  the  town  of  Benton,  where  he  began 
the  experience  of  a  married  man  in  1855.  While  a 
beginner  in  the  pursuit  of  rogues  in  court  there  occurred, 
in  a  wholly  different  direction,  an  instance  of  his  per 
sonal  courage  which  was  much  talked  of  and  made  him 
many  friends.  The  farmers  of  southern  Illinois  had 
been  troubled  by  incursions  of  a  desperate  gang  of 
horse-thieves  from  the  swamps  of  southeastern  Missouri. 
A  number  of  horses  had  recently  been  stolen,  but  the 
sufferers  held  the  gang  in  terror  and  were  afraid  to  fol 
low  and  attempt  the  recovery  of  their  property.  Young 
Logan  heard  about  the  outrage,  and  taking  two  men  with 
him  followed  the  outlaws  into  the  swamps  of  Missouri, 
and  soon  returned  with  his  neighbors'  horses.  Acute 
rheumatism,  from  which  he  still  suffers  at  times,  seized 
him  as  he  was  returning,  sixteen  miles  from  home ;  but 
he  had  accomplished  his  mission. 

Logan  was  reflected  to  the  State  Legislature  in  1853, 
1856,  and  1857,  and  in  1856  was  a  Presidential  Elector 
on  the  Buchanan  and  Breckenridge  ticket.  At  this 
point  he  began  his  career  as  a  stump  orator,  and  his 
speeches  were  considered  remarkable  examples  of  elo 
quence,  giving  him  a  reputation  that  sent  him  to  Con 
gress  in  1856, 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


LOGAN  IN  THE  WAR  FOR  THE  UNION. 

How  He  Gained  the  Title  of  "Black  Jack."  — Was  He  a  Seces 
sion  Sympathizer  at  the  Outset?— His  Own  and  the  Record's  Answer. 
— The  Confession  of  Confederates  Exonerates  Him. — The  Story  of 
Bull  Run,  and  Logan's  glorious  Beginning  in  the  War  for  the  Union. 
— Resigning  to  Raise  a  Regiment. — Grant  and  Logan  at  Cairo,  March 
to  their  Illustrious  Careers  as  Officers  in  the  Greatest  of  Modern 
Struggles.— The  Task  of  "  Purging  Missouri.  "—The  Battle  of  Bel- 
mont. — Logan's  Regiment  Under  Fire  for  the  First  Time. — His 
Horse  Killed  under  Him,  and  His  Pistol  Shattered  at  His  Side.— 
Praise  for  His  Bravery. 

Why  is  Logan  called  "  Black  Jack,"  is  a  question 
which  is  often  asked,  and  an  answer  may  as  well  be 
placed  at  the  beginning  of  the  sketch  of  his  career  in 
the  war  to  save  the  Union.  "  Black  Jack  "  is  simply  a 
soldier's  term  of  endearment,  like  "  Fighting  Joe,"  as 
applied  to  Hooker,  and  "  Old  Pap  Thomas,"  as  applied 
to  General  George  H.  Thomas.  General  Nelson,  who 
was  heartily  hated  by  his  men  before  their  first  battle, 
was  called  in  hatred  "  Bull  Nelson,"  but  after  they  had 
once  fought  under  him  and  discovered  how  his  hard 

(271) 


272  LOGAN   IN   THE  WAR   FOB  THE  UNION. 

training  and  drilling  had  made  veterans  of  them  before 
they  had  snielled  burning  powder,  they  expressed  their 
love  for  him  by  calling  him  "  Bully  Old  Nelson."  Logan 
is  very  dark  of  complexion,  and  this  fact,  of  course, 
gives  the  color  to  his  nickname. 

DID   HE  SYMPATHIZE  WITH   SECESSION   AT  THE   START? 

An  important  matter  which  it  is  well  to  have  made 
plain  at  the  beginning  of  the  sketch  of  this  famous 
soldier,  relates  to  his  attitude  during  the  commotion 
which  filled  the  country  just  before  the  outbreak  of  the 
War  of  the  Rebellion.  Did  Logan  think  of  joining  the 
Southern  army? 

It  would  not  have  been  strange  if  he  had  wavered 
between  the  North  and  South.  Geographically,  he  was 
as  near  the  South  as  the  North,  and  politically  and 
socially  his  surroundings  were  such  as  to  make  a  dif 
ferent  choice  than  the  one  he  made,  not  unnatural. 
"  Egypt,"  as  Southern  Illinois  was  called,  contained  a 
population  whose  instincts  were  chiefly  Southern,  and 
doubtless  the  heroic  service  of  Logan  to  the  Union 
cause  was  one  of  the  greatest  restraints  to  hold  its 
people  back  from  a  union  with  the  Rebels.  His  enthu 
siasm  awakened  the  loyalty  that  was  sleeping,  and  the 
story  of  his  bravery  in  the  first  battles  of  the  war,  was 
like  a  flaming  torch  in  that  benighted  land,  causing  a 
burst  of  fiery  zeal  among  those  who  had  only  secretly 


LOGAN   IN   THE  WAR   FOB  THE  UNION.  273 

wished  to  have  the  Union  saved,  and  causing  to  seek 
deeper  shades  of  darkness  those  in  whose  hearts  there 
lurked  the  treasonable  purpose  which  delighted  in  the 
thought  of  the  destruction  of  the  Republic. 

Logan  had  Southern  affiliations  in  his  own  family,  as 
well  as  among  his  friends  and  neighbors ;  and  kindred 
whom  he  loved  avowed  their  preferences  for  an  alliance 
of  the  Logans  of  Southern  Illinois  with  the  seceding 
States. 

BOYNTON   ON  LOGAN'S  POSITION. 

Says  General  Boynton,  in  regard  to  this  matter: 
"  The  roll  of  honor  of  the  Union  armies  does  not  con 
tain  a  name  worthy  to  stand  above  his  as  the  best  type 
of  the  volunteer  officer  through  all  the  grades  up  to  the 
commander  of  an  army  in  battle.  Before  he  was  of  age, 
he  was  a  soldier  in  Mexico.  He  was  a  Democratic 
Congressman  from  the  most  benighted  political  section 
of  Illinois  when  Sumter  was  fired  upon.  He  was  a 
good-enough  Republican  to  be  a  fighting  officer  for  the 
Union,  and  a  very  stubborn  one,  too,  at  the  battle  of 
Bull  Run.  A  good  many  who  wink  now  as  they  ask 
with  a  knowing  air  whether  Logan  did  not  once  contem 
plate  joining  the  Southern  Confederacy  had  not  them 
selves,  at  that  date,  adopted  the  doctrine  of  coercion. 
Suppose  Logan  did  at  first  consider  such  a  step? 
There  were  scores  of  men,  whose  prominence  in  the 
party  is  not  now  questioned,  who  were  proposing  peace 


274  LOGAN  IN   THE  WAR   FOR   THE   UNION. 

conferences  or  serving  on  peace  committees  after  Logan 
had  enlisted  as  a  Union  soldier.  He  never  turned  his 
face  toward  the  Confederacy  —  except  in  battle.  But  if 
he  had,  in  the  early  unsettled  days,  Republicans,  in 
view  of  his  magnificent  service  from  the  hour  the  first 
Rebel  gun  was  fired,  can  give  him  full  and  effective 
defense  against  .all  questioners." 

LOGAN  SPEAKS  FOR  HIMSELF. 

But  that  Logan  was  zealous  in  the  service  of  the 
country  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  conflict,  appears 
from  a  very  bold  declaration  of  his  course  and  defiance 
of  his  foes,  which  he  pronounced  upon  the  floor  of 
Congress  after  the  war  was  over,  as  well  as  from  his 
assertion  while  a  Democrat  on  the  stump  for  Stephen 
A.  Douglas,  that  he  would  take  up  arms,  if  necessary, 
to  secure  the  inauguration  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  should 
the  result  of  the  campaign  of  1860  be  a  Republican 
victory. 

Although  he  had  proved  his  courage  and  loyalty  by 
his  blood  and  by  his  services  on  many  a  battle-field,  the 
assailants  of  his  patriotism  —  his  daring  bravery  no  one 
had  the  hardihood  to  question  —  goaded  him  to  the 
following  utterance  in  the  Senate,  on  March  23,  1881 : 

"  Mr.  President,  I  have  taken  but  slight  notice  of 
slanders  touching  my  action  in  any  case.  But,  sir, 
since  the  year  1866,  my  enemies  have  so  persistently 
pursued  me  with  falsehoods  touching  my  action  in  1861, 


LOGAN   IN   THE   WAR    FOR   THE   UNION.  275 

that  I  now  feel  it  to  be  my  duty  to  place  on  record  the 
facts,  that  those  who  come  after  me  may  know  the 
truth  as  it  was  and  is.  ...  During  the  early  part  of 
the  year  1861,  when  secession  was  rampant  in  the  city 
and  in  the  halls  of  Congress,  and  while  I  had  an  oppor 
tunity  of  showing  where  my  sympathies  were,  whether 
with  the  Union  or  not,  Mr.  Adrian  of  New  Jersey  pro 
posed  the  following  Resolution  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  :  '  Resolved,  That  we  fully  approve  of  the  bold 
and  patriotic  act  of  Major  Anderson  in  withdrawing 
from  Fort  Moultrie  to  Fort  Sumter,  and  of  the  determi 
nation  of  the  President  to  maintain  that  fearless  officer 
in  his  present  position ;  and  that  we  will  support  the 
President  in  all  constitutional  measures  to  enforce  the 
laws  and  preserve  the  Union.7 ' 

Upon  this  resolution  Mr.  Logan  voted  "  yea"  and  added 
that  u  it  received  his  unqualified  support."  This  he  re 
asserted  in  the  speech  of  March  23d,  and  no  one  was 
bold  enough  to  dispute  the  assertion  as  not  being  truth. 
And  he  did  more.  He  proved  by  the  most  unanswerable 
testimony  that  every  word  breathed  against  his  patriotic 
standing  was  false  to  the  very  core.  He  brought  for 
ward  the  statements  of  his  Democratic  opponents  to 
give  emphasis  to  his  loyalty  of  thought,  deed,  and  pur 
pose;  produced  the  unsolicited  letters  of  Senators  J.  Q. 
C.  Lamar  and  J.  L.  Pugh ;  demolished  the  fictions  of 
his  traducers  by  hundreds  of  letters  and  affidavits,  and 


276  LOGAN   IN   THE   WAR   FOR   THE   UNION. 

in  the  end  did  not  leave  the  base  lie  a  foot  to  stand 
upon. 

THE   ONLY  MAN  WHO   DARED   FACE   HIM  WITH   THE  LIB. 

The  only  man  that  ever  dared  insinuate  to  his  face 
that  he  was  a  sympathizer  of  secession,  was  Senator 
Ben  Hill  of  Georgia,  in  the  United  States  Senate  Cham 
ber,  March  80, 1881,  and  Logan  at  once  replied :  "  Any 
man  who  insinuates  that  I  sympathized  with  it  at  that 
time,  insinuates  what  is  false,"  and  Senator  Hill  at  once 
retracted  the  calumny. 

Subsequently,  April  19,  1881,  a  part  of  the  press  hav 
ing  in  the  meantime  insinuated  further  doubts,  Senator 
Logan  proved  by  the  record  and  by  documentary  evi 
dence  the  falsity  of  the  aspersion.  That  record  shows 
that  January  7,  1861  —  while  still  a  Douglas  Democrat, 
before  Lincoln's  inauguration  and  before  even  the  first 
gun  of  the  war  was  fired  upon  Fort  Sumter  —  he  de 
clared  in  Congress,  as  he  voted  for  a  resolution  which 
approved  the  action  taken  by  the  President  in  support 
of  the  laws  and  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union, 
that  the  resolution  received  his  "  unqualified  approba 
tion."  Prior  to  that  (Dec.  17,  1860),  he  had  voted 
affirmatively  on  a  resolution  offered  by  Morris  of  Illi 
nois,  which  declared  an  "  immovable  attachment "  to 
"  our  National  Union,"  and  "  that  it  is  our  patriotic 
duty  to  stand  by  it,  as  our  hope  in  peace  and  our 


LOGAN   IN   THE   WAR   FOR   THE   UNION.  277 

defense  in  war."  In  a  speech  he  made  February  5, 
1861,  on  the  "  Crittenden  Compromise,"  he  declared 
that  "he  had  always  denied,  and  did  yet  deny,  the 
right  of  secession." 

THE   CONFESSION   OF   A   BOURBON. 

When  Logan  concluded  his  speech  of  vindication  in 
the  Senate,  even  the  Bourbon  Senator,  Brown  of  Geor 
gia,  declared  it  to  be  "  full,  complete,  and  conclusive." 
In  future,  then,  no  truthful  man  will  dare  to  say  that 
Logan  was  not  true  to  the  Union  and  opposed  to  seces 
sion  "before  the  war,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war, 
and  all  through  the  war."  In  1860  and  1861,  he  was 
the  most  popular  man  in  Southern  Illinois,  and  un 
doubtedly  did  more  than  any  other  man  to  create  and 
foster  the  spirit  of  loyalty  in  what  had  been  called 
"Egypt."  He  threw  himself  heart  and  soul  into  the 
ranks  of  the  Union,  and  produced  a  sensation  by  his 
public  declaration  that  "  if  forcible  resistance  was  made 
to  the  inauguration  of  President  Lincoln,  he  would 
shoulder  his  musket  and  aid  in  the  consummation  of 
the  people's  will."  The  effect  of  his  example  at  that 
critical  time,  as  well  as  afterwards,  was  felt  not  alone 
in  his  own  State,  but  in  Indiana  and  other  adjacent 
States.  As  has  been  well  said,  "  His  eloquence  gave 
courage  in  the  hour  of  fear,  and  kindled  fires  of  devout 
patriotism  when  the  embers  were  growing  weak  and 
low." 


278  LOGAN   IN   THE   WAR   FOR   THE   UNION.  ? 

A   REFUTATION    FOR   LOGAN'S    FRIENDS   TO   USE. 

This  somewhat  extended  refutation  of  a  calumny  will 
not  bo  without  value  to  admirers  of  Logan  who  may 
wish  to  silence  slander  during  the  fierce  conflict  of  a 
political  campaign.  There  may  be  some  who,  from 
selfish  motives  or  the  jealousy  that  is  "  cruel  as  the 
grave,"  will  desire  to  keep  the  foul  story  afloat.  In 
reply  to  such,  what  is  here  written  should  be  presented 
for  the  sake  of  the  man ;  for  the  sake  of  those  with 
whom  he  associated ;  for  the  sake  of  his  country  and 
for  the  sake  of  those  dearer  to  him  than  all  save  an 
unsullied  name  in  private  life,  in  camp,  upon  the  battle 
field,  and  as  one  of  the  representatives  of  a  great 
nation. 

"  To  such  men,"  says  one  of  Logan's  friends,  "  private 
credit  is  wealth,  public  honor  is  security;  the  feather 
that  adorns  the  royal  bird  supports  its  flight ;  strip  him 
of  his  plumage,  and  you  fix  him  to  the  earth.  Indeed, 
to  one  whose  aim  of  life  has  been  to  stand  before  the 
world  as  the  hero  of  Marignano,  Aquadello,  and  Battle 
of  the  Spurs  '  sans  peur  et  sans  reproche'  —  it  is  his  all." 

THE   STORY   OF   BULL   RUN. 

The  first  battle  of  Bull  Run,  fought  on  July  21, 1861, 
was  the  first  in  wjiich  Logan  bore  arms  to  subdue  the 
rebellion,  and  its  story  is  inseparably  connected  with 
his  brilliant  career  in  the  Union  army.  Fort  Sumter 


LOGAN   IN   THE  WAR   FOE   THE   UNION.  279 

fell  on  April  14,  1861,  the  battle  of  Big  Bethel  was 
fought  in  Virginia  on  June  10th ;  the  battle  of  Boone- 
ville  followed  in  Missouri  during  the  same  month ;  the 
battle  of  Carthage  was  fought  on  the  soil  of  Missouri 
on  July  6th,  and  the  battle  of  Rich  Mountain  was  fought 
in  Virginia  on  July  10th,  so  that  the  first  battle  of 
Bull  Run  was  the  sixth  battle  of  the  war,  and  great 
hopes  rested  upon  the  Union  arms  engaged  in  that  ter 
rible  struggle. 

The  gathering  of  Confederate  troops  at  Manassas 
Junction  imperiled  Washington,  for  while  Beauregard 
was  there  in  command  of  the  main  army,  General 
Johnston  was  at  Winchester,  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley, 
with  a  large  force  which  could  be  readily  summoned  to 
reinforce  a  movement  for  the  capture  of  the  Capitol 
city. 

General  Irwin  McDowell,  who  commanded  the  Depart 
ment  of  Virginia,  had  his  headquarters  at  "  Arlington 
House,"  while  General  Patterson  was  at  Martinsburg 
with  18,000  Federal  troops  to  hold  Johnston  in  check 
at  Winchester.  About  the  midddle  of  July,  McDowell 
received  orders  to  move  on  the  Confederates,  and  with 
20,000  troops  he  marched  from  Arlington  Heights  on 
July  16th,  his  purpose  being  to  flank  the  Confederate 
right  wing.  Two  days  later,  General  Tyler  was  repulsed 
by  the  enemy  at  Blackburn's  Ford,  and  McDowell,  find 
ing  that  he  could  not  flank  the  Confederates,  resolved 
12 


280  LOGAN   IN   THE   WAR    FOR   THE   UNION. 

to  make  a  direct  attack,  having  no  fear  that  Patterson 
would  not  be  able  to  keep  Johnston  in  the  Shenandoah 
Valley. 

On  the  morning  of  battle,  McDowell's  army  set  forth 
in  three  columns,  one  under  General  Tyler  to  make  a 
feigned  attack,  and  the  other  two  under  Generals 
Hunter  and  Heintzelman  to  take  a  wide  circuit  to  the 
left,  cross  Bull  Run  at  different  points,  and  make  a  real 
attack  upon  Beauregard's  left  wing,  while  Tyler  was 
engaging  its  attention. 

But  news  of  the  Federal  plan  had  reached  the  gov 
ernment  at  Richmond,  and  at  noon  of  the  preceding 
day,  Johnston  had  started  from  Winchester  with  6,000 
fresh  troops  to  support  the  main  Confederate  army. 
The  fighting  began  when  Hunter  and  Heintzelman 
crossed  Bull  Run,  about  noon,  and  three  hours  later, 
General  Johnston,  who  had  assumed  chief  command 
upon  his  arrival  upon  the  field,  was  looking  anxiously 
toward  Manassas  Gap,  exclaiming,  "Oh,  for  four  regi 
ments  ! " 

They  came,  and  from  the  approaching  cloud  of  dust, 
General  E.  Kirby  Smith  soon  rode  forth  with  4,000  fresh 
Confederate  soldiers  to  turn  the  tide  of  battle  just  as  a 
victory  for  the  Union  seemed  almost  assured.  The 
flight  of  the  Federal  troops,  leaving  3,000  of  dead, 
wounded,  and  captured  behind  them,  was  a  panic  which 
sent  dismay  through  the  North  and  delight  through  the 


LOGAN   IN   THE   WAR   FOR   THE   UNION.  *    281 

South,  and  the  disaster  must  have  prolonged  the  war 
for  years ;  if  Johnston  had  been  aware  of  his  oppor 
tunity,  it  would  have  given  the  Confederate  army  imme 
diate  possession  of  the  Capitol. 

LOGAN'S  GLORIOUS  BEGINNING. 

It  was  in  and  immediately  after  this  disastrous  strug 
gle  that  John  A.  Logan  performed  such  service,  that 
his  fame  as  a  defender  of  the  Union  can  be  traced  to 
the  first  great  battle  of  the  war,  both  as  a  soldier  and 
as  a  Congressman.  He  had  moved  to  the  front  with 
Colonel  Richardson's  regiment  of  Michigan  volunteers, 
and,  seizing  a  musket  and  taking  his  place  in  the 
ranks  as  a  private,  he  exhibited  great  bravery  during 
the  contest  at  Bull  Run.  When  he  returned  to  Con 
gress  after  that  battle,  he  urged  upon  the  government 
the  necessity  of  raising  a  sufficient  force  to  pat  down 
the  Rebels  in  arms. 

The  nation  was  for  a  time  almost  paralyzed  by  the 
blow  of  July  21st,  and  Europe  was  beginning  to  talk 
about  the  ruin  of  the  American  Republic,  but  the  influ 
ence  of  Logan,  whose  bravery  had  done  so  much  to 
check  the  panic  of  his  comrades  in  the  retreat  from 
Bull  Run,  and  of  others  like  him,  soon  restored  confi 
dence,  and  before  the  adjournment  of  Congress  in 
August,  volunteers  had  hastened  to  the  support  of  the 
"  Stars  and  Stripes  "  by  thousands,  and  the  people  were 


282  LOGAN   IN   THE   WAR    FOR   THE   UNION. 

resolved  to  wage  a  war  which  promised  to  be  long  and 
desperate 

RESIGNS   TO   RAISE   A   REGIMENT. 

Logan  retained  his  seat  in  Congress  after  his  return 
from  the  battle  of  Bull  Run  until  the  adjournment  in 
the  following  month,  and  his  urgent  appeals  for  prompt 
and  vigorous  action  to  crush  the  Rebellion,  were  the 
more  effective  because  of  his  participation  in  the  bloody 
struggle  of  July  21st.  At  the  end  of  the  session,  how 
ever,  he  resigned  his  position  as  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  returned  to  Illinois  to 
raise  a  regiment,  avowing  his  purpose  to  enter  the  war 
for  the  Union  and  remain  in  it  till  the  end. 

By  a  series  of  stirring  and  patriotic  appeals  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  State,  he  rallied  thousands  of 
volunteers,  and  himself  joined  the  Thirty-first  Regi 
ment  of  Illinois  Infantry.  He  was  elected  Colonel,  and 
the  regiment  was  mustered  into  service  on  September 
13th.  His  prestige  as  a  dashing  young  officer  in  the 
Mexican  War,  and  his  part  in  the  battle  of  Bull  Run, 
gave  him  an  enthusiastic  following  when  he  returned 
to  his  State,  and  although  there  were  many  disloyal 
inhabitants  in  "  Egypt,"  he  was  ready  to  take  the  field 
at  the  head  of  a  regiment  of  973  meli  within  a  month 
from  his  return  home  from  Washington.  The  speeches 
he  delivered,  and  the  volunteers  he  secured  during  that 


LOGAN   IN   THE   WAR   FOR   THE   UNION.  283 

month  accomplished  a  great  revolution  of  public  senti 
ment  in  a  large  part  of  southern  Illinois. 

The  record  of  a  State  that,  when  the  second  call 
for  three  hundred  thousand  soldiers  was  issued  filled 
her  quota  within  thirteen  days,  notwithstanding  she 
had  to  her  credit  sixteen  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  men  in  excess  of  former  demands,  may 
suggest  that  to  raise  a  regiment  in  less  than  a  month 
was  not  a  difficult  performance  in  Illinois,  but  all  who 
are  familiar  with  the  political  condition  of  southern 
Illinois  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  will  readily  assent 
to  the  declaration  that  no  other  man  could  have  done 
what  Logan  did  during  the  month  following  the  adjourn 
ment  of  Congress  in  the  summer  of  1861. 

HOW   HE   WON   HIS   PEOPLE. 

Resolutions  favoring  secession  had  already  been 
adopted  by  his  constituents.  Almost  every  friend  he 
had,  save  his  patriotic  wife,  was  arrayed  against  him. 
He  had  been  the  pride  and  the  idol  of  his  people,  but 
now  they  spurned  him  and  persecution  and  abuse  fol 
lowed  him  everywhere.  Threats  of  personal  violence 
were  made.  There  are  persons  now  living  who  will 
never* forget  the  wonderful  influence  of  Logan  over  men 
at  that  stormy  time  when,  mounting  a  wagon  in  the 
public  square  at  Marion,  Williamson  County — which 
was  his  place  of  residence — he  addressed  a  vast  multi- 


284  LOGAN    IN   THE   WAR   FOR   THE   UNION. 

tude  of  people  who,  strongly  sympathizing  with  the 
South,  were  little  less  than  a  howling  mob.  When 
Logan  began  to  speak  it  was  with  difficulty  that  he 
could  gain  a  hearing,  but  before  he  had  finished  the 
vivid  picture  he  painted  of  the  inevitable  consequences 
of  treason  and  disunion,  they  stood  absolutely  spell 
bound,  and  many  were  even  ready  to  enlist  in  defense 
of  that  very  flag  which,  but  a  few  moments  before,  they 
would  have  stamped  upon.  And  when  he  closed  and 
told  them  he  was  going  to  enlist  for  the  war  ("as  a 
private — or  in  any  capacity  in  which  he  could  serve  his 
country  best  in  defending  the  old  blood-stained  flag  over 
every  foot  of  soil  in  the  United  States  "  )  they  swarmed 
about  him  and  sent  up  such  a  shout  as  has  rarely  been 
heard.  A  friend  and  fellow-comrade  of  Logan's  in  the 
Mexican  War,  having,  in  the  meantime,  hurriedly 
hunted  up  an  old  fifer  and  drummer,  was  the  first  to 
shout :  "  Come  on,  boys  !  Let 's  go  with  Logan.  Where 
he  leads  we  can  follow!"  Suiting  action  to  the  words, 
the  fife  and  drum  struck  up  the  familiar  tune  of  "  Yan 
kee  Doodle,''  and  before  they  had  marched  half  way 
around  the  square  one  hundred  gallant  fellows  were  in 
line  "keeping  step  to  the  music  of  the  Union."  Each 
pledged  to  serve  his  country  for  three  years,  ilnless 
sooner  discharged  by  peace  being  declared. 

The    midnight    traveling    and    daily    speaking    and 
enlisting  of  soldiers  for  the  war,  during  the  ensuing  ten 


LOGAN   IN   THE   WAR   FOR   THE   UNION.  285 

days,  can  hardly  be  described.  The  conversion  of  an 
entire  people  from  sympathy  for  the  South  into  patriotic 
soldiers  ready  to  fight,  was  little  short  of  miraculous. 

GRANT  AND  LOGAN  AT  CAIRO. 

Like  General  Grant,  Logan  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Mexican  War,  and  like  Grant  he  began  his  career  as  an 
officer  in  the  war  for  the  Union  at  Cairo,  where  the 
Thirty-first  Illinois  Infantry  was  stationed  immediately 
after  it  was  mustered  into  the  service.  The  coinci 
dences  are  noteworthy  because  of  the  steadfast  friend 
ship  between  the  two  officers  which  existed  throughout 
all  the  years  of  the  war  and  has  remained  unbroken 
until  this  day. 

Grant  was  living  in  St.  Louis  just  before  the  war,  and 
he  was  one  of  the  first  of  the  West  Point  graduates  in 
private  life  to  offer  his  services  to  the  government.  lie 
Was  made  the  Colonel  of  an  Illinois  regiment,  and  in 
May,  1861,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Brigadier- 
General  and  assigned  to  the  command  of  Cairo. 

Although  a  small  village  at  that  time,  Cairo  was  a 
point  of  great  importance  because  of  its  position  at  the 
junction  of  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  rivers,  on  the 
southern  extremity  of  Illinois,  and  only  175  miles  below 
St.  Louis.  The  Confederates  had  determined  to  secure 
and  hold  the  town,  and  both  the  Federal  Government 
and  Governor  Yates  had  information  as  to  the  scheme 


286  LOGAN   IN   THE  WAR   FOR   THE   UNION. 

of  the  rebels  to  obtain  control  of  the  water-ways  to  the 
great  cities  of  St.  Louis  and  Cincinnati.  Acting  under 
instructions  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  Governor  Yates 
dispatched  Illinois  troops  to  thwart  the  Confederate 
schemes,  and  General  B.  M.  Prentiss,  who  seconded  the 
nomination  of  Senator  Logan  in  the  recent  Chicago 
Convention,  was  in  command  of  a  force  of  5,000  men 
when  Grant  arrived,  in  May,  to  assume  the  position  of 
commander  of  the  post — then  called  Camp  Defiance. 

GRANT  AND  LOGAN  HELP  "  PURGE  MISSOURI." 

"I  have  purged  Missouri,"  wrote  General  Halleck  to 
the  Government  in  February,  1862,  and  to  assist  in 
that  work  was  the  first  task  of  both  Grant  and  Logan 
when  they  marched  from  Cairo  for  action  in  the  field. 
Missouri  had  the  misfortune  to  have  Claiborne  F.  Jack 
son  for  Governor  at  the  beginning  of  the  war.  An  ally 
of  secession  and  an  enemy  of  the  Union  that  he  was, 
he  nevertheless  took  the  oath  as  Governor  on  January  4, 
1861,  and  in  his  message  to  the  Legislature  he  recom 
mended  that  Missouri  stand  with  her  sister  States  of  the 
South,  and  advised  that  a  convention  be  called  to 
consider  the  course  to  be  taken.  The  convention  was 
held,  but  the  Legislature  refused  to  give  it  authority  to 
decide  the  course  of  Missouri  without  a  vote  of  the 
people. 

The  popular  vote  was  strongly  in  favor  of  the  Union, 


LOGAN   IN   THE   WAR    FOR   THE   UNION.  287 

but  Governor  Jackson  was  determined  to  carry  the  State 
over  to  the  Confederacy,  and  during  the  excitement 
which  followed  the  capture  of  Southern  troops  in  St. 
Louis  he  inaugurated  civil  war  in  Missouri  by  calling  out 
50,000  militia,  and  ordering  two  important  railway 
bridges  between  St.  Louis  and  Jefferson  City  to  be  burned 
and  the  telegraph  wires  to  be  cut.  He  visited  Richmond 
secretly,  and  while  he  was  in  conference  with  the  Con 
federate  government,  Lieutenant-Governor  Reynolds,  "  in 
the  temporary  absence  of  Governor  Jackson,"  declared 
the  absolute  severance  of  Missouri  from  the  Union. 
"  Disregarding  forms,"  he  said,  "  and  looking  to  realities, 
I  view  any  ordinance  for  the  separation  from  the  North 
and  union  with  the  Confederate  States  as  a  mere  out 
ward  ceremony,  to  give  notice  to  others  of  an  act  already 
consummated  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  ;  consequently, 
no  authority  of  the  United  States  will  hereafter  be  per 
mitted  in  Missouri." 

To  break  the  power  of  the  enemies  of  the  Union  in 
Missouri  was  the  work  to  which  Grant  and  Logan  were 
both  assigned  when  they  departed  from  camp  at  Cairo. 

HIS   REGIMENT   UNDER   FIRE   FOR   THE   FIRST    TIME. 

It  was  only  seven  weeks  after  they  were  mustered  into 
the  service  that  his  men  were  under  fire  for  the  first  time. 
General  Fremont  wrote  to  the  government  in  Washing 
ton,  early  in  October,  when  his  army  was  30,000  strong : 
12* 


288  LOGAN   IN    THE    WAR   FOR   THE   UNION. 

"  My  plan  is.  New  Orleans  straight ;  I  could  precipitate 
the  war  forward,  and  end  it  soon  victoriously."  Before  his 
career  was  suddenly  checked,  soon  after,  he  ordered  Grant 
to  move  a  force  along  the  Mississippi  river  to  co-operate 
with  his  own  army,  and  the  movement  was  promptly 
effected.  A  column  of  about  3,000  troops,  mostly  Illi 
nois  Volunteers,  was  sent  forward  under  command  of 
General  John  A.  McClernand,  and  landed  about  three 
miles  above  Belmont.  Grant  accompanied  McClernand, 
and  Logan  was  in  the  column,  at  the  head  of  the  Thirty- 
first  Illinois  Infantry. 

A   STORY   OF   THE   BELMONT   BATTLE. 

A  member  of  Logan's  old  regiment  tells  a  little  story 
of  the  Belmont  attack  and  victory,  which  illustrates 
Logan's  dash  and  energy.  Said  he  :  "  We  embarked  at 
Cairo  on  transports  and  landed  secretly  a  few  miles  above 
Belmont.  The  rebels  were  in  force  at  Columbus  and  at 
Belmont,  nearly  opposite  Columbus.  We  swooped  down 
on  the  Belmont  outfit,  and,  after  a  sharp  fight,  cleaned 
out  the  town.  In  those  days,  the  early  part  of  the  war, 
whenever  a  body  of  Union  troops  had  a  fight  and  won 
it,  it  was  thought  to  be  the  thing  to  have  a  great  blow 
out,  speeches  and  bonfires  and  music  and  all  that.  The 
Belmont  victory  was  no  exception.  We  had  a  great  time 
that  night.  General  McClernand  made  a  roaring  speech, 
and  so  did  Logan,  I  believe.  We  had  great  bonfires  and 
extra  supper  and  all  the  bands  out,  and  kept  it  up  till 


LOGAN    IN    THE    WAR    FOR   THE    UNION.  291 

pretty  near  daylight.  Then  it  was  found  that  during  the 
night,  while  we  were  celebrating,  the  rebels  had  landed 
a  big  force  from  Columbus  to  our  side  of  the  river,  and 
cut  us  off  completely  from  our  transports.  We  were 
dazed  at  this,  and  in  a  mighty  tight  place.  Logan  was 
the  first  to  realize  it,  and,  after  some  discussion,  he  got 
permission  from  General  McClernand  to  try  to  cut  his 
way  through  the  rebel  cordon  and  open  the  road  to  the 
transports. 

LOGAN'S  NARROW  ESCAPE  AND  THE  DEATH  OF  HIS  HORSE. 

The  bayonet  charge  which  followed  was  one  of  the 
most  gallant  feats  of  the  war,  and  volunteer  troops  could 
not  have  performed  it  without  a  leader  of  Logan's 
magnetic  courage.  The  way  back  to  the  transports  was 
fought  as  fiercely  as  their  way  into  Beimont  had  been, 
and  Logan  had  a  narrow  escape  from  death,  a  bursting 
shell  killing  his  horse  under  him,  and  shattering  a  pistol 
at  his  side.  General  Grant  had  a  horse  shot  under  him 
during  the  attack  upon  Beimont,  and  General  McCler 
nand  sat  upon  two  horses  when  they  were  struck  down 
by  bullets  from  the  enemy.  In  his  report  to  General 
Grant,  McClernand  spoke  in  high  terms  of  the  conduct 
of  Logan,  who,  when  under  the  most  galling  and  deadly 
fire,  exhibited  the  same  intrepidity  and  judgment  which 
distinguished  him  in  all  his  subsequent  career,  and  which 
with  his  thoughtful  care  for  their  comfort  and  safety, 
uiade  him  the  ideal  of  the  troops  under  his  command. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


LOGAN  AT  DONELSON  AND  BEFORE  CORINTH. 

He  Returns  to  Cairo  from  Belmont  and  goes  to  Washington  to 
ask  Comforts  for  his  Men.  —He  Helps  Win  the  Decisive  Victory  at 
Fort  Henry,  and  Rout  the  Confederates  in  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and 
Missouri. — The  Army  and  the  Country  cry,  "On  to  Donelson."— 
Grant  Plans  the  Attack  and  Waits  for  Foote  to  Bring  the  Mortar- 
Boats  into  the  Cumberland  from  Cairo  to  Bombard  the  Fort. — The 
Confederates  Attempt  to  Cut  a  Way  out  and  Escape  toward  Nash 
ville. — Logan  Prevents  a  Panic  and  is  Carried  Bleeding  from  the 
Field. — Grant  Makes  him  a  Brigadier-General. — The  Siege  of  Corinth. 
— An  Interesting  Report  in  Logan's  Own  Words. — Sherman's  Praise. 

Logan  returned  to  Cairo  after  the  enemy  had  been 
compelled  to  abandon  Belmont,  and  while  in  Camp  De 
fiance  the  discomforts  of  the  raw  troops  were  very  great, 
and  much  harder  to  bear  'than  the  greater  hardships 
which  they  subsequently  endured  as  veterans.  They  had 
left  their  homes  and  comfortable  surroundings  quite  un 
prepared  for  the  life  of  soldiers.  Their  equipage  was 
poor,  as  neither  quartermasters  nor  purveyors  had  learn 
ed  how  to  properly  prepare  for  the  needs  of  troops.  Col 
onel  Logan,  with  that  solicitude  for  the  well-being  of  his 

(292) 


LOGAN  AT  DONELSON  AND  BEFORE  CORINTH.    293 

men  which  always  distinguished  him,  finally  went  to 
Washington  and  arranged  for  arms  and  clothing  suitable 
for  his  command,  although,  owing  to  the  confusion  inci 
dent  to  the  hurried  preparations  for  war,  it  was  almost 
impossible  to  obtain  supplies  of  any  kind. 

The  battle  of  Fort  Henry  was  the  first  decisive  victory 
of  Union  troops  upon  Western  waters,  and  Logan  led 
his  regiment  in  that  struggle.  The  fort  stood  at  a  bend 
of  the  Tennessee  river,  where  that  stream  approaches 
the  Cumberland  river  until  there  is  not  more  than  a 
dozen  miles  between  them,  and  the  Confederates  had 
placed  it  at  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  on  a  high  hill 
opposite  Fort  Hieman.  At  the  beginning  of  February, 
1862,  a  land  force  commanded  by  General  Grant,  and  a 
flotilla  commanded  by  Commodore  Foote,  were  sent  to 
capture  the  two  forts,  and  the  expedition  appeared  about 
two  miles  below  Fort  Henry  on  February  3d.  The  fort 
contained  seventeen  heavy  guns,  a  dozen  of  which  swept 
the  river. 

Commodore  Foote  placed  four  of  his  iron-clads  in  posi 
tion  for  a  bombardment,  while  two  un armored  vessels 
were  used  to  fish  up  torpedoes  which  the  enemy  had  strewn 
upon  the  bed  of  the  river.  The  garrison  of  Fort  Hieman 
fled  at  the  approach  of  troops  sent  to  silence  their 
guns,  and  with  about  3,000  troops  outside  they  hastened 
to  Fort  Donelson,  on  the  Cumberland  river,  twelve  miles 
away.  The  bombardment  of  Fort  Henry  began  on  Feb- 


294:          LOGAN   AT   DONELSON    AND    BEFORE    CORINTH. 

ruaiy   6th,  and  it  had  proceeded  only  an  hour  when  the 
garrison  became  panic-stricken. 

The  Federal  troops  entered  the  fort  to  find  that  less 
than  one  hundred  Confederates  remained  to  surrender, 
so  quick  had  been  the  flight  towards  Donelson.  Grant 
had  not  arrived  when  the  flag  of  the  Union  was  hoisted 
over  the  scene,  and  the  victory  had  been  won  at  a  cost  of 
only  two  killed  and  thirty-eight  wounded.  Twenty-nine 
of  the  latter  had  been  injured  by  the  escape  of  scalding 
steam  from  one  of  the  boilers  which  had  been  pierced  by 
a  thirty-two  pound  shell. 

THE   IMPORTANCE   OF   THE   VICTORY. 

The  fall  of  Fort  Henry  and  Fort  Hieman  encouraged 
the  hope  of  the  North^that  the  Confederate  cause  would 
soon  be  ruined  in  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Missouri. 
When  Halleck  received  the  intelligence  he  telegraphed 
to  McClellan  :  "  Fort  Henry  is  ours !  The  flag  of  the 
Union  is  re-established  on  the  soil  of  Tennessee.  It 
will  never  be  removed."  The  Union  soldiers  were  in 
the  rear  of  the  enemy  centered  at  Columbus,  Kentucky, 
and  their  commanders  perceived  that  if  a  victory  could 
be  achieved  on  the  Cumberland  like  that  which  had  been 
won  on  the  Tennessee,  Beauregard  would  be  compelled 
to  retreat  from  the  ground  he  then  occupied. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  wrote  to  Commodore 
Foote:  "The  country  appreciates  your  gallant  deeds, 


LOGAN    AT    DONELSON    AND    BEFORE    CORINTH.          295 

and  this  department  desires  to  convey  to  you  and  your 
brave  associates  its  profound  thanks  for  the  service  you 
have  rendered." 


The  enthusiasm  awakened  by  the  victory  at  Fort 
Henry  undoubtedly  contributed  much  to  the  success  of 
the  Union  arms  in  the  struggle  of  the  following  fort 
night.  It  was  seen  that  Fort  Donelson  was  the  only 
obstacle  to  the  rout  of  the  Confederates  at  Columbus 
under  Beauregard,  and  the  cry  "  On  to  Donelson  "  was 
everywhere  heard,  among  officers  and  among  men  in 
the  ranks.  Foote  had  sent  three  vessels  to  reconnoiter 
the  borders  of  the  Tennessee  after  the  fall  of  Fort 
Henry  had  opened  that  river  to  the  very  heart  of  the 
Confederacy,  and  the  report  of  the  expedition,  repre 
senting  that  loyalty  was  not  dead  although  suppressed 
by  a  mailed  hand,  resulted  in  a  decision  to  make  an 
immediate  attack. 

Fort  Donelson  stood  upon  the  high  right  bank  of  the 
Cumberland  river,  at  Dover,  the  seat  of  Stewart  County, 
Tennessee,  and  it  covered  about  one  hundred  acres  upon 
hills  furrowed  by  ravines.  General  Grant  planned  the 
movement,  organizing  the  army  into  three  divisions, 
commanded  by  Generals  McClernand,  Smith,  and  Lew 
Wallace,  and  directing  Foote  to  return  to  Cairo  to  bring 
his  mortar  boats  around  into  the  Cumberland  river  to 


296         LOGAN   AT   DONELSON    AND    BEFORE   CORINTH. 

assist  in  the  attack.  The  march  of  the  Union  cavalry, 
infantry,  and  artillery,  across  the  country  to  Fort  Don- 
elson,  was  performed  in  one  of  the  fiercest  storms  of  a 
severe  winter,  but  no  complaint  was  heard  from  the  men. 

The  movement  of  the  troops  began  on  the  morning 
of  February  12th,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day 
Fort  Donelson  was  invested.  General  Pillow  was  in 
command  of  the  Fort,  but  General  Floyd  arrived  from 
Virginia  on  the  following  day  and  superseded  him. 
Grant  thought  it  inexpedient  to  begin  the  attack  before 
the  arrival  of  the  flotilla,  and  although  the  weather  was 
severely  cold,  the  Federal  troops,  who  had  bivouacked 
without  tents  in  a  drenching  rain  on  the  night  of  the 
12th,  patiently  waited  for  orders,  suffering  severely 
because  they  were  not  permitted  to  keep  their  fires 
burning  at  night,  lest  they  should  draw  the  attack  of 
the  enemy's  guns. 

About  noon  of  the  14th  the  war  vessels  had  arrived 
and  at  3  o'clock  the  bombardment  began,  both  armored 
vessels  in  the  front  line  and  the  unarmored  vessels  in  a 
second  line  participating  in  the  attack.  Fifty-four  men 
were  killed  and  more  than  one  hundred  were  wounded 
before  the  fleet  withdrew,  and  Foote  then  returned  to 
Cairo  for  repairs  and  reinforcements. 

It  was  Grant's  purpose  to  await  Foote's  re-appearance, 
but  he  was  not  permitted  to  wait.  In  a  council  of  war 
on  the  night  of  the  14th  the  Confederates  had  resolved 


LOGAN    AT   DONELSON    AND    BEFORE   CORINTH.         297 

to  drive  the  Federal  force  from  the  field  or  cut  a  way 
out  and  escape  in  the  direction  of  Nashville,  and  at  5 
o'clock  of  the  16th  the  assault  was  made.  About  10,000 
men  under  the  command  of  Pillow  and  Bushrod  John 
son  began  the  assault,  and  a  quick,  furious,  and  heavy 
onslaught  was  made  on  McClernand's  division,  which 
occupied  the  heights  extending  along  the  river.  The 
first  shock  fell  upon  Oglesby's  brigade,  but  the  men 
stood  firm  until  their  ammunition  began  to  fail,  when 
they  gave  way  under  the  terrific  pressure,  except  the 
extreme  left,  held  by  Colonel  Logan  and  the  Illinois 
Thirty-first.  Upheld  by  their  heroic  commander,  Logan's 
men  stood  like  a  wall  before  the  enemy,  and  to  their 
fidelity  the  army  owed  deliverance  from  a  panic  and 
rout  perhaps  as  disastrous  as  the  first  Bull  Run. 

The  conflict  was  fierce  throughout  the  forenoon,  but 
later  in  the  day  the  Confederates  retired  to  the  fort,  and 
before  the  next  morning  Floyd  had  turned  over  the 
command  to  Buckner  and  fled  up  the  river,  and  Pillow 
had  departed  for  his  home  in  Tennessee. 

CARRIED   BLEEDING   FROM   THE   FIELD. 

Logan  was  severely  wounded  in  his  shoulder  during 
the  battle,  but  he  rallied  his  men  and  held  them  in 
position  until,  exhausted  from  loss  of  blood,  he  was 
carried  from  the  field.  Of  the  606  men  he  led  into  the 
struggle  only  303  answered  to  their  names  the  next 
morning. 


298         LOGAN    AT   DONELSON   AND    BEFORE   CORINTH. 

General  McClernand,  commanding  the  First  Division, 
highly  praised  Colonel  Logan's  conduct,  in  his  official 
report  of  Fort-  Donelson,  saying:  "Schwartz's  battery, 
being  left  unsupported  by  the  retirement  of  the  29th, 
the  31st  boldly  rushed  to  its  defense,  and  at  the  same 
moment  received  the  combined  attack  of  the  forces  on 
the  right  and  of  others  in  front,  supposed  to  have  been 
led  by  General  Buckner.  The  danger  was  imminent, 
and  calling  for  a  change  of  disposition  adapted  to  meet 
it,  which  Colonel  Logan  made  by  forming  the  right  wing 
of  his  battalion  at  an  angle  with  the  left.  In  this  order 
he  supported  the  battery,  which  continued  to  play  upon 
the  enemy  and  held  him  in  check  until  his  regiment's 
supply  of  ammunition  was  entirely  exhausted." 

The  report  of  Colonel  Oglesby,  commanding  the  First 
Brigade,  says:  "Turning  to  the  31st,  which  yet  held  its 
place  in  line,  I  ordered  Colonel  Logan  to  throw  back 
his  right,  so  as  to  form  a  crochet  on  the  right  of  the 
llth  Illinois.  In  this  way  Colonel  Logan  held  in  check 
the  advancing  foe  for  some  time,  under  the  most  destruc 
tive  fire,  whilst  I  endeavored  to  assist  Colonel  Cruft 
with  his  brigade  in  finding  a  position  011  the  right  of  the 
31st.  It  was  now  four  hours  since  fighting  began  in  the 
morning.  The  cartridge-boxes  of  the  31st  were  nearly 
empty.  The  Colonel  had  been  severely  wounded  and 
the  Lieutenant-Colonel,  John  II.  White,  had,  with  some 
thirty  others,  fallen  dead  on  the  field,  and  a  large 


. 
LOGAN    AT   DONELSON   AND    BEFORE   CORINTH.          301 

number  were  wounded.  In  this  condition  Colonel  Logan 
brought  off  the  remainder  of  his  regiment  in  good 
order." 

Says  another  writer :  "  The  annals  of  the  war  speak  of 
General  Logan  as  being  where  danger  was  the  greatest 
and  the  blows  of  death  the  thickest  and  most  heavy, 
and  no  name  is  inscribed  more  brightly  upon  the  roll  of 
honor  of  Donelson." 

GRANT    MAKES   LOGAN   A   BRIGADIER-GENERAL. 

The  following  letter  indicates  the  opinion  of  General 
Grant  as  to  the  conduct  of  Logan  in  the  battle  before 
Fort  Donelson : 

"HEADQUARTERS  DISTRICT  WEST  TENNESSEE, 

"FORT  HENRY,  March  14,  1862. 
"Hon.  E.  M.  STANTON, 

"  Secretary  of  War,  Washington,  D.  C.: 
"  I  have  been  waiting  for  reports  of  sub-commanders  at 
the  battle  of  Fort  Donelson  to  make  some  recommenda 
tions  of  officers  for  advancement  for  meritorious  ser 
vices.  These  reports  are  not  yet  in,  and  as  the  troops 
under  my  command  are  actively  engaged,  may  not  be 
for  some  time.  I  therefore  take  this  occasion  to  make 
some  recommendations  of  officers  who  in  my  opinion 
should  not  be  neglected.  I  would  particularly  mention 
the  names  of  Colonel  J.  D.  Webster,  First  Illinois 
Artillery  ;  Morgan  L.  Smith,  Eighth  Missouri  Volun- 


302         LOGAN   AT   DONELSON    AND    BEFORE   CORINTH. 

teers;  W.  H.  L.  Wallace,  Eleventh  Illinois  Volunteers; 
and  John  A.  Logan,  Thirty-first  Illinois  Volunteers. 
The  two  former,  are  old  soldiers  and  men  of  decided 
merit.  The  two  latter  are  from  civil  pursuits,  but  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  fully  indorsing  them  as  in  every 
way  qualified  for  the  position  of  brigadier-general,  and 
think  they  have  fully  earned  the  position  on  the  field  of 
battle.  There  are  others  who  may  be  equally  meritori 
ous,  but  I  do  not  happen  to  know  so  well  their  services. 

«U.  S.  GRANT, 

"Major-General." 

Colonel  Logan  was  accordingly  promoted  to  be  a 
brigadier-general  of  volunteers.  For  some  time  he  was 
confined  by  his  wound  to  his  bed ;  but  so  impatient  was 
he  to  return  to  his  command  that  with  his  wound  still 
unhealed  he  started  for  the  front,  and  reached  it  on  the 
evening  of  the  Battle  of  Sliiloh,  April  7,  1862,  just  too 
late  to  participate  in  the  engagement,  much  to  his 
disappointment. 

IN   COMMAND    OF   A   BRIGADE. 

As  Brigadier-General,  Logan  was  assigned  to  the  com 
mand  of  the  First  Brigade,  third  division  of  the  Seven 
teenth  Army  Corps,  and  took  a  distinguished  part  in  the 
movement  against  Corinth.  Grant  had  yielded  the  com- 
"  mand  at  the  battle  of  Shiloh  to  Halleck,  then  his  super 
ior  in  rank,  upon  the  arrival  of  the  latter  from  St.  Louis, 


LOGAN    AT   DONELSON   AND    BEFORE    CORINTH.         803 

and  it  was  his  purpose  to  pursue  Beauregard  in  his  re 
treat,  striking  a  blow  while  the  enemy  was  weak,  but  he 
was  restrained  by  Halleck,  much  to  the  disappointment 
of  Logan,  who  thought  that  Corinth  might  have  been 
captured,  instead  of  being  merely  occupied  after  the 
enemy  had  fled. 

LOGAN'S  STORY  OF  THE  SIEGE  OF  CORINTH. 
A  report  of  the  siege  of  Corinth,  made  by  Logan  him 
self,  possesses  peculiar  interest,  not  only  because  it  pre 
sents  a  vivid  description  of  the  movement,  but  also  be 
cause  it  exhibits  the  weighty  responsibilities  devolving 
upon  the  commander  of  a  brigade  who,  less  than  a  year 
before,  was  carrying  a  musket  as  a  private  in  the  first 
battle  of  Bull  Run.  The  report  is  as  follows  : 

"Report  of  Brig.  -Gen.  John  A.  Logan,  U.  S.  Army, 
commanding  First  Division,  of  operations  from  April 
19th  to  May 


"HDQRS.,  IST  Div.  RES.  CORPS, 
"ARMY  OF  THE  TENNESSEE, 

"  BETHEL,  TENN.,  June  —  ,  1862. 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  report  of 
the  operations  of  the  different  arms  of  the  First  Divis 
ion  since  my  connection  with  it,  hi  pursuance  of  a  re 
quest  from  your  headquarters  of  date  June  11,  1862  : 
"I  was  assigned  to  and  took  command  of  the  First 


304         LOGAN    AT   DONELSON    AND   BEFORE    CORINTH. 

Brigade,  consisting  of  the  Eighth  Illinois  Infantry,  Col. 
F.  L.  Rhoads ;  Eighteenth  Illinois  Infantry,  Col.  M.  K. 
Lawler ;  Thirtieth  Illinois  Infantry,  Col.  E.  S.  Dennis ; 
Thirty-first  Illinois  Infantry,  Col.  L.  Ozburn,  and  Twelfth 
Michigan  Infantry,  Col.  F.  Quinn,  on  the  19th  day  of 
April,  1862,  by  General  Field  Orders,  No.  402,  from  your 
headquarters,  and  occupied  Camp  No.  1,  which  may  be 
designated  as  General  Oglesby's  old  camp,  one  mile  north 
of  Shiloh  Church,  one-quarter  of  a  mile  from  your  head 
quarters,  on  the  Corinth  and  Pittsburg  Landing  road, 
and  two  miles  from  said  Landing. 

"  On  the  23d  day  of  April  I  received  marching  orders, 
dated  from  your  headquarters,  to  be  ready  at  eight  A.  M., 
April  24,  to  move  forward,  taking  all  camp  and  garrison 
equipage.  After  constructing  a  road  across  a  branch  of 
Owl  Creek  I  advanced  my  brigade,  as  ordered,  about  two 
miles,  taking  position  about  three  degrees  north  of  a 
direct  westerly  line,  with  my  right  resting  on  a  bluff  over 
looking  Owl  Creek.  This  camp  was,  by  special  order 
from  your  headquarters,  designated  as  Camp  Stanton. 
We  here  constructed  the  first  field  fortifications,  consist 
ing  of  enfilading  rifle-pits  and  lunettes. 

"On  the  25th  day  of  April  Colonel  Lawler  was  ordered 
to  take  six  regiments,  three  companies  of  cavalry,  and 
one  section  of  artillery,  and  make  a  reconnaissance  in 
front  of  and  to  the  left  of  our  position  in  the  direction 
of  Monterey.  I  also  instructed  Colonel  Lawler  to  feel 


LOGAN  AT  DONELSON  AND  BEFORE  CORINTH.    305 

the  enemy.  The  expedition  started  at  daylight  the  next 
morning,  as  ordered,  and  proceeded  in  the  direction  in 
dicated  until  he  received  an  order  by  the  hands  of  a 
messenger,  dated  headquarters  Army  of  Tennessee,  to 
halt  his  column  and  return  to  camp,  which  he  obeyed. 

"  On  the  27th  of  April  I  again  received  orders  to  march 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  30th,  and  on  that  day 
marched  my  command,  in  conjunction  with  the  divi 
sion,  with  camp  and  garrison  equipage,  a  distance  of 
about  three  miles  on  the  road  to  Monterey,  and  took 
position  on  the  right  of  the  division,  which  rested  its 
left  on  the  Monterey  road  about  nine  miles  from  that 
place,  and  near  the  McCook  Hospital.  This  was  Camp 
No.  3.  Roads  were  repaired  and  constructed  from  Camp 
Stanton  to  Camp  No.  3  by  the  division,  and  in  the  rear 
of  Camp  Stanton  toward  Pittsburg  Landing  to  the  extent 
of  three  miles. 

"  Upon  the  assignment  of  the  major-general  command 
ing  the  division  to  the  command  of  the  Reserve  Corps  of 
the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  I  was,  by  General  Orders  No. 
1,  issued  from  your  headquarters,  under  date  of  May  2, 
1862,  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Third  Division 
(late  First)  on  account  of  seniority  of  rank. 

"  On  the  3d  day  of  May,  in  conformity  with  Special 
Field  Orders  No.  40,  from  department  headquarters,  I 
was  relieved  from  the  command  of  the  division  by  the 
assignment  of  Brig.  Gen.  H.  M.  Judah  to  the  command. 


306          LOGAN    AT   DONELSON    AND   BEFORE   CORINTH. 

Being  in  ill  health,  I  deferred  assuming  command  of  my 
brigade  until  I  became  able.  My  brigade  at  that  time 
was  under  orders  to  move  forward  with  the  division  early 
on  the  4th  of  May.  Col.  M.  K.  Lawler,  whom  I  had  pre 
viously  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  First  Brigade, 
conducted  his  inarch  on  the  right  of  the  division  on 
that  day  with  military  skill  and  ability.  The  div 
ision  moved  forward  a  distance  of  about  six  miles,  and 
established  a  camp  on  the  south  bank  of  Lick  Creek,  on 
the  main  Corinth  road,  and  one  mile  in  rear  of  Monterey. 
This  was  Camp  No.  4.  Two  bridges,  constructed  across 
Lick  Creek  and  the  road,  including  that  part  across  Lick 
Creek  Bottom,  were  constructed  from  this  camp  to  Pitts- 
burg  Landing,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  supply  trains. 
At  the  above  camp  I  resumed  command  of  my  brigade. 
Frequent  cavalry  reconnaissances  were  made  from  this 
point,  but  I  have  no  official  knowlege  of  their  results. 

"  In  the  afternoon  of  the  10th  day  of  May  I  was  under 
orders  to  move  my  command  forward  with  the  division 
on  the  morning  of  the  llth  at  an  early  hour  on  the  road 
to  and  in  the  direction  of  Corinth,  to  a  house  known  as 
Coggsdale's.  Upon  arriving  there  I  was  informed  that 
he  would  move  forward  to  the  camp  lately  occupied  by 
Major-General  Sherman,  at  the  crossing  of  the  old  State- 
line  road  with  the  Purdy  and  Farmington  road.  Upon 
arriving  at  the  place  thus  previously  designated,  one 
regiment  from  my  brigade  was  thrown  out  one  mile  in 


LOGAN    AT   DONELSON   AND   BEFORE   CORINTH.          307 

front  as  a  picket  guard.  We  then  proceeded  to  estab 
lish  the  camp,  my  brigade  taking  position  on  the  right, 
Col.  M.  K.  Lawler,  who  had  been  assigned  to  the  com 
mand  of  the  Third  Brigade,  on  the  left,  Brig.  Gen.  L. 
F.  Ross,  commanding  Second  Brigade,  in  rear  of  the 
center,  one  battery  of  artillery  on  the  right  of  my 
brigade,  two  in  the  center  of  the  division,  and  one  on 
the  left,  and  the  cavalry  in  rear  of  the  whole  command. 
The  Twentieth  Illinois  (Lieutenant-Colonel  Richards 
commanding),  of  the  Third  Brigade,  with  two  pieces  of 
artillery,  was  ordered  in  advance  for  outpost  duty,  and 
took  position  on  a  line  with  the  infantry  pickets  on  the 
old  State-line  road,  overlooking  Muddy  Creek,  at  the 
crossing  near  Haine's  house. 

u  It  will  not  be  out  of  place  at  this  juncture  to 
mention  that  Capt.  S.  R.  Tresilian,  of  my  staff,  in 
charge  of  one  company  of  cavalry,  advanced  beyond 
the  creek  and  drove  the  enemy's  pickets  beyond  Easel's 
house,  on  the  Hack  road,  leading  from  Purdy  to 
Corinth.  Three  companies  of  the  Elevench  Illinois 
Infantry  were  ordered  on  outpost  duty  one  mile  on  the 
right  of  the  division,  on  the  road  leading  from  Farming- 
ton  to  Purdy.  Cavalry  reconnaissances  were  made 
daily  from  this  camp,  resulting  in  almost  every  instance 
in  meeting  the  enemy's  pickets  and  driving  them  from 
their  position,  of  which,  however,  I  am  not  officially 
advised  in  regard  to,  not  being  in  command  of  the  - 

13 


308         LOGAN   AT   DONELSON    AND   BEFORE   CORINTH. 

division  at  the  time.  We  at  this  camp  (No.  5),  com 
pleted  the  fortifications  commenced  by  Major-General 
Sherman,  and  constructed  additional  rifle-pits.  It  was 
from  this  camp  that  two  companies  of  the  Fourth 
Illinois  Cavalry  and  Dollins'  Cavalry,  under  command 
of  Lieut.  M.  Fitts,  Capts.  M.  J.  O'Harnett  and  E.  Car- 
imchael's  independent  companies  of  cavalry,  all  under 
command  of  Lieut.  Col.  William  McCullough,  made  a 
reconnaissance  in  the  direction  of  and  beyond  Purely, 
destroying  the  Mobile  &  Ohio  Railroad  bridge  across 
Cypress  Creek  near  Jones's  Mill,  and  about  five  miles 
south  of  Bethel.  They  also  captured  a  locomotive  with 
four  men  on  board,  and,  placing  the  men  under  guard, 
ran  the  engine  into  the  creek,  destroying  it.  In  their 
advance  they  met  the  enemy's  picket,  about  three  miles 
from  Purdy,  where  a  heavy  skirmish  took  place,  the 
enemy's  pickets  retreating.  On  the  third  stand  the 
enemy  was  discovered  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle,. when 
our  force  advanced,  giving  them  a  volley,  causing  a 
panic,  which  broke  their  lines,  when  they  immediately 
retreated,  scattering  in  all  directions,  continuing  to  fire, 
however,  from  cover  of  trees,  etc.  The  cavalry  of 
Colonel  McCullough  was  then  dismounted  by  his  order, 
deployed  as  skirmishers,  and  ordered  to  advance.  The 
enemy  was  still  slowly  retreating  and  firing  until  our 
force  came  closely  upon  them,  when  they  turned,  and 
it  became  a  perfect  rout,  the  enemy  passing  through 


LOGAN  AT  DONELSON  AND  BEFORE  CORINTH.    309 

Purely,  dispersing  in  all  directions.  The  cavalry  again 
mounted,  and  made  a  charge  through  the  town,  with 
the  hope  of  taking  some  of  them  prisoners.  Our  cav 
alry  then  advanced  to  the  railroad  bridge  over  Cypress 
Creek,  as  before  stated,  and  after  executing  their  orders, 
returned  to  camp  without  any  loss.  While  at  this  camp 
my  command,  in  conjunction  with  Brigadier-General 
Ross's  brigade,  a  battery  of  eight  guns,  and  a  battalion 
of  the  Fourth  Illinois  Cavalry,  were  ordered  to  make  a 
reconnaissance,  under  command  of  the  divison  com 
mander,  in  the  direction  of  the  Mobile  &  Ohio  Rail 
road,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  what  force,  if  any, 
was  in  the  direction  of  or  on  the  railroad,  and  to  drive 
them  beyond  and  destroy  the  track.  The  expedition 
moved  forward  at  four  A.  M.,  Brigadier-General  Ross, 
with  a  battalion  of  cavalry,  taking  the  advance,  my 
brigade  in  the  rear  as  a  reserve.  No  enemy  appeared 
before  reaching  the  road,  where  we  found  the  enemy's 
pickets  posted,  and  fired  upon  them,  killing  one  man, 
when  they  fell  back.  General  Ross  advanced  hurriedly, 
and  commenced  the  work  of  destroying  the  road.  After 
doing  so,  the  expedition  was  ordered  to  return,  arriving 
in  camp  at  ten  A.M.,  having  marched  seven  miles  and 
destroyed  the  railroad  in  six  hours. 

"  About  the  4th  of  May,  Brigadier-General  Ross  was 
ordered  to  move  forward  his  brigade  with  the  Four 
teenth  Indiana  Battery  of  Artillery  and  two  companies 


310          LOGAN    AT   DONELSON   AND   BEFORE    CORINTH. 

of  cavalry,  and  take  position  on  the  main  Corinth 
road  one  and  one-half  miles  from  Camp  No.  5.  On  the 
21st  of  May  my  command  was  ordered  to  move  for 
ward,  take  all  camp  and  garrison  equipage,  and  occupy 
the  position  vacated  on  that  day  by  Major-General  Sher 
man.  This  was  Camp  No.  6,  near  Easel's  house,  on  the 
road  to  Corinth.  On  the  28th  of  May,  at  1.30  A.M., 
I  received  orders  to  move  up  the  first  brigade,  without 
camp  equipage  or  transportation,  to  the  extreme  right 
of  General  Sherman's  division,  by  7.55  A.  M.,  with 
instructions  to  assist  in  driving  the  rebels  from  the 
house,  on  Sherman's  front ;  also  in  driving  back  their 
pickets,  and  to  make  a  strong  demonstration  of  attack 
ing  Corinth.  General  Ross's  brigade  was  at  the  same 
time  ordered  up,  and  came  in  my  rear.  Through  some 
misdirection  we  advanced  too  far  to  the  right,  and 
approached  the  Mobile  &  Ohio  Railroad  at  Bowie  Cut. 
The  enemy's  pickets  were  in  sight  at  a  house  on  the 
hill  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road.  An  agreement 
having  been  made  between  the  pickets  that  they  would 
not  fire  on  each  other,  an  officer  was  sent  to  "inform 
them  tlmt  we  desired  the  position  held  by  them.  They 
immediately  retired,  and  we  occupied  the  position.  In 
the  meantime  messengers  had  been  sent  to  find  out  and 
report  the  position  of  General  Sherman's  division,  that 
we  might  take  position  as  ordered.  None  of  them 
giving  a  report  of  his  position  that  would  enable  us  to 


LOGAN   AT   DONELSON   AND   BEFORE   CORINTH.         311 

reach  him,  Capt.  J.  J.  Dollins,  senior  aide-de-camp  on 
my  staff,  was  dispatched  to  ascertain  and  report  cor 
rectly  his  position,  which  he  did,  and  directed  the 
march  to  the  place  assigned  to  my  brigade,  to  wit :  My 
left  resting  on  the  right  of  General  Denver's  brigade, 
and  my  right  resting  on  the  Mobile  &  Ohio  Railroad  ; 
General  Ross's  brigade  occupied  the  position  at  Bowie 
Cut,  where  fortifications  were  thrown  up,  under  the 
direction  of  Brigadier-General  Judah. 

"  Upon  arriving  at  the  position  assigned  me  on  the  right 
of  General  Sherman  I  immediately  threw  out  skirmish 
ers  about  800  yards  in  front  of  my  brigade,  under 
charge  of  Maj.  M.  Smith,  of  the  Forty-fifth  Illinois 
Infantry,  acting  as  officer  of  the  day,  a  brave  officer,  and 
in  every  respect  worthy  of  the  duty  assigned  him. 
Skirmishing  immediately  took  place,  with  but  little  exe 
cution  being  done  on  either  side  until  the  afternoon, 
when  I  re-inforced  my  skirmishers  with  one  other  com 
pany,  commanded  by  Captain  Wilson,  from  the  Eighth 
Illinois  Regiment,  for  the  purpose  of  driving  the  enemy's 
pickets  and  obtaining  a  different  position.  In  the 
engagement  which  followed  the  advance  Orderly  Sergt. 
Barnard  Zick,  Company  B,  Eighth  Illinois  Regiment, 
was  severely  wounded  in  the  arm  and  one  or  two  others 
slightly  wounded.  I  had  no  means  of  ascertaining  what 
damage  the  enemy  sustained,  not  being  allowed  to 
advance  beyond  a  certain  point.  Afterward,  and  near 
night,  the  enemy's  pickets,  being  apparently  increased, 


312    LOGAN  AT  DONELSON  AND  BEFORE  CORINTH. 

made  a  dash  at  our  line,  with  the  evident  intention  of 
driving  our  pickets  in,  but  the  men,  under  the  command 
of  the  gallant  Captains  Lieb  and  Wilson,  of  the  Eighth 
Illinois  Infantry,  nobly  maintained  their  position,  and 
after  firing  two  volleys  at  the  enemy  advanced  and  drove 
him  back.  Only  one  of  my  command  was  wounded  in 
this  action,  while  seven  of  the  enemy  were  killed  and  a 
large  number  wounded,  but  carried  off  the  field.  When 
night  arrived  I  ordered  the  men  to  lay  on  their  arms  and 
be  ready  to  meet  an  attack  should  one  be  made.  Every 
thing  remained  quiet,  however,  through  the  night,  only 
a  few  shots  being  fired. 

"  Early  in  the  morning  shots  became  more  frequent, 
which  apparently  indicated  a  movement  by  the  enemy, 
but  believing  only  a  small  force  to  be  in  front  of  my  line 
I  asked  permission  to  advance,  but  was  refused  authority 
to  do  so.  Unsteady  firing  was  kept  up  at  intervals  dur 
ing  the  forenoon  and  until  about  2  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon.  At  about  1  P.  M.  I  was  notified  that  Colonel  Mc 
Dowell's  brigade  would  relieve  my  command  at  4  o'clock 
that  evening.  At  the  time  specified  two  regiments  of 
Colonel  McDowell's  command  relieved  the  Eighth  and 
Forty-fifth  Illinois-  Regiments,  which  I  started  back  on 
their  way  to  the  old  camp,  and  was  waiting  in  person  for 
the  remaining  two  regiments  of  my  command,  when  my 
picket  line  immediately  in  front  was  briskly  attacked 
and  with  great  force,  volley  after  volley  being  fired  from 
the  enemy  into  our  ranks,  many  of  the  balls  passing 


LOGAN  AT  DOXELSON  AND  BEFORE  CORINTH.    313 

over  the  heads  of  the  men  standing  in  line  of  battle  in 
the  rear.  I  immediately  ordered  Captain  Townes, 
assistant  adjutant-general,  to  halt  the  two  regiments  who 
were  returning  to  camp,  and  instruct  them  to  await  fur 
ther  orders.  In  this  attack  the  men  again  exhibited  that 
true  Western  courage  which  has  characterized  them  in 
so  many  engagements,  and  maintained  their  position  like 
veteran  soldiers.  After  receiving  the  fire  of  the  enemy 
they  returned  it  with  great  vigor,  and  immediately 
advanced,  under  command  of  Captains  Licb  and  Cowen, 
of  the  Eighth  and  Forty-fifth  Regiments,  respectively, 
and  fought  the  enemy,  of  three  times  their  number, 
alone.  The  enemy  succeeded  in  carrying  away  all  his 
killed  and  wounded,  which  I  am  informed  amounted  to 
near  40  men.  This  was  the  last  skirmish  had  on  the 
right  of  the  line  occupied  by  General  Sherman  and 
myself.  Everything  becoming  quiet  on  the  lines,  and 
the  two  regiments  of  my  command  being  relieved,  I 
ordered  the  whole  command  to  return,  and  arrived  at 
camp  that  evening  (May  29)  at  or  near  sundown. 

"  Great  credit  is  due  to  the  members  of  my  staff,  Capt. 
,  R.  R.  Townes,  assistant  adjutant-general;  Capt.  J.  J. 
Doliins,  senior  aide-de-camp;  Capt.  S.  R.  Tresilian, 
division  engineer,  and  Capts.  A.  L.  Page,  D.  C.  Moore, 
and  William  C.  Carroll,  aides-de-camp,  for  their  active 
and  efficient  services  rendered  on  the  march,  in  camp, 
and  on  the  field. 

"  On  the  next  morning  I  received  official  notice  of  the 


314          LOGAN    AT   DONELSON   AND   BEFORE   CORINTH. 

evacuation  of  Corinth,  and  that  the  American  flag,  as  it 
waved  over  the  rebel  fortifications,  was  greeted  by  the 

thundering  shouts  of  our  soldiery. 

****** 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient 
servant,  "JOHN  A.  LOGAN, 

"  Brigadier- General  Commanding. 
"  Capt.  C.  T.  HOTCHKISS, 

"Acting  Assistant  Adjutant- General,  Reserve  Corps" 

GENERAL   SHERMAN   ON   LOGAN   AT   CORINTH. 

General  Sherman,  in  his  official  report  of  the  siege  of 
Corinth, dated  "Camp, near  Corinth, May  30,1862,"  says: 

"  Col.  John  A.  Logan's  brigade,  of  General  Judah's 
division  of  McClcrnand's  reserve  corps,  and  Gen.  Veatch's 
brigade,  of  Hurlbut's  division,  were  placed  subject  to 
niy  orders,  and  took  an  important  part  with  my  own 
division  in  the  operations  of  the  two  following  days,  viz., 
May  28  and  May  29, 1862 ;  and  I  now  thank  the  officers 
and  men  of  those  brigades  for  the  zeal  and  enthusiam 
they  manifested,  and  the  alacrity  they  displayed  in  the 
execution  of  every  order  given.  *  *  *  And  further  I 
feel  under  special  obligations  to  this  officer,  General 
Logan,  who,  during  the  two  days  he  served  under  me, 
held  critical  ground  on  my  right,  extending  down  to  the 
railroad.  All  that  time  he  had  in  his  front  a  large  force 
of  the  enemy,  but  so  dense  was  the  foliage  that  he  could 
not  recken  their  strength  save  from  what  he  could  see 
in  the  railroad  track." 


CHAPTER    XIX. 


LOGAN  IN  HIS   LATER   CAMPAIGNS. 

Logan  Commander  of  Jackson. — He  goes  North  to  Speak  for  the 
Union,  but  Refuses  to  Leave  the  Army  for  a  Seat  in  Congress. — "I 
Have  Entered  the  Field  to  Die,  if  Need  Be." — Appointed  Major- 
General  at  the  End  of  the  Campaign. — The  Battle  of  Port  Gibson. — 
"  The  Road  to  Vicksburg  Open." — Raymond  and  Champion  Hills. — 
The  Count  of  Paris  Says  Logan  Secures  the  Federal  Victory. — "  The 
Gibralter  of  the  South." — Logan  First  to  Enter  Vicksburg. — Military 
Governor  of  the  City. — A  Series  of  Brilliant  Battles. — The  Death  of 
McPherson. — The  Fall  of  Atlanta.— Logan  on  the  Stump  for  Lincoln. 
— With  Sherman  in  the  Carolinas. — The  End  of  the  War. 

After  the  occupation  of  Corinth,  Gen.  Logan  guarded 
the  railroad  communications  with  Jackson,  Tenn.,  of 
which  place  he  was  subsequently  made  commander. 
During  the  summer  of  1862  he  returned  to  his  own 
State,  and  was  urged  to  leave  the  army  and  return  to 
Washington  as  a  Congressman-at-large.  He  replied: 

"  /  have  entered  the  field  to  die,  if  need  be,  for  this 
government,  and  never  expect  to  return  to  peaceful  pursuits 
until  the  object  of  this  war  of  preservation  has  become  a 

fact  established." 

13*  (315) 


316  LOGAN   IN    HIS   LATER   CAMPAIGNS. 

WITH    GRANT   ON  THE   MARCH   TO    YICKSBURG. 

Returning  to  his  brigade,  Gen.  Logan  began  the  march 
with  Grant  in  the  northern  Mississippi  campaign,  lead 
ing  the  advance  as  commander  of  the  First  Division  of 
the  right  wing  of  the  Fifteenth  Corps,  and  before  he 
returned  to  Memphis  he  was  made  a  Major-General  of 
Volunteers,  the  date  of  his  commission  being  November 
29,  1862. 

Arriving  at  Memphis  on  the  last  day  of  1862,  the  Sev 
enteenth  Corps  was  organized,  under  orders  from  the 
War  Department,  and  Gen.  Logan  was  appointed  to  the 
command  of  its  Third  Division,  which  he  retained  until 
after  the  fall  of  Yicksburg  in  July,  1863. 

Grant's  army  and  the  Confederates  met  eight  miles 
from  the  Mississippi  on  May  1st,  and  the  Federals 
forced  the  enemy  back  four  miles  to  Fort  Gibson.  The 
struggle  lasted  until  night,  and  under  cover  of  the  dark 
ness  the  Confederates  fled.  Logan's  division  struck  the 
enemy  the  severest  blow  of  that  struggle. 

"THE  ROAD  TO  VICKSBURG  OPEN." 
The  Confederates  evacuated  Grand  Gulf,  as  they  had 
evacuated  Post  Gibson,  and  on  the  morning  of  May  3d 
General  Grant  telegraphed  to  Sherman: 

"  Logan  is  now  on  the  main  road  from  here  to  Jack 
son,  and  McPherson,  closely  followed  by  McClernand,  on 
the  branch  of  the  same  road  from  Willow  Spring.  *  *  * 
The  road  to  Vicksburg  is  now  open ."  *  *  * 


LOGAN   IN    HIS   LATER   CAMPAIGNS.  31  < 

Although  the  road  was  open,  there  were  yet  two  hard 
battles  to  be  fought.  The  first  was  that  of  Raymond, 
the  capital  of  Hinds  County.  Logan  bore  the  brunt  of 
this,  "  one  of  the  hardest  small  battles  of  the  war,"  as 
General  Grant  has  described  it,  and  when  the  Confed 
erates  retreated,  followed  them  through  Raymond  to 
wards  Jackson. 

The  battle  of  Champion  Hill  was  fought  with  great 
spirit,  General  Grant  having  learned  of  the  movement 
of  Johnston  for  Jackson,  and  fearing  his  union  with  Pem- 
berton  for  the  purpose  of  crushing  the  Federal  army. 

The  Count  of  Paris,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Civil  War 
in  America,"  says  :  "  The  battle  of  Champion  Hill,  con 
sidering  the  number  of  troops  engaged,  could  not  compare 
with  the  great  conflicts  we  have  already  mentioned,  but 
it  produced  results  far  more  important  than  most  of  those 
great  hecatombs,  like  Shiloh,  Fair  Oaks,  Murfreesborough, 
Fredericksburg,  and  Chancellorsville,  which  left  the  two 
adversaries  fronting  each  other,  both  unable  to  resume  the 
fight.  It  was  the  most  complete  defeat  the  Confeder 
ates  had  sustained  since  the  commencement  of  the  war. 
*  This  battle  was  the  crowning  work  of  the 
operations  conducted  by  Grant  with  equal  audacity  and 
skill  since  his  landing  at  Bruinsburg.  In  outflanking 
Pemberton's  left  along  the  slopes  of  Champion  Hill,  he 
had  completely  cut  off  the  latter  from  all  retreat  north. 
Notwithstanding  the  very  excusable  error  he  had  comr 


318  LOGAN   IN   HIS  LATER    CAMPAIGNS. 

mitted  in  stopping  Logan's  movement  for  a  short 

the  latter  had,  through  this  manoeuvre   secured  victory  to 

the  Federal  army  " 

THE   SIEGE   OF   YICKSBURG. 

The  city  of  Yicksburg,  situated  on  the  east  bank  of 
the  Mississippi,  surmounting  the  Walnut  Hills,  was  so 
adapted  by  nature  for  fortification  that  it  was  called 
"the  Gibraltar  of  the  South."  Admiral  Farragut  had 
attempted  to  capture  it  with  gunboats  in  June,  1862,  but 
it  withstood  his  assaults,  and  the  achievement  of  Grant 
in  taking  the  stronghold  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
greatest  in  the  history  of  modern  war,  and  Logan  was 
one  of  his  most  efficient  aids  in  the  work. 

The  general  assault  of  May  19,  1863,  resulted  in 
a  Federal  loss  of  more  than  4,000,  but  General  Grant 
ordered  a  repetition  of  the  attack  on  the  22d,  which 
resulted  in  a  heavy  loss  of  life,  and  failed  to  carry  the 
enemy's  works. 

General  Logan  fought  so  heroically  in  this  siege  that 
an  important  battery  was  thereafter  called  "  Battery  Lo 
gan."  He  led  McPherson's  center  at  Fort  Hill,  and  the 
hand  to  hand  fighting,  when  his  command  stormed  the 
breach  at  that  point,  was  among  the  fiercest  of  the  war. 
Grant  was  often  in  Logan's  camp  during  the  siege,  and  it 
was  adjacent  to  Logan's  headquarters  that,  on  the  after 
noon  of  July  3d,  Grant  and  Pemberton  met  to  arrange 


LOGAN    IN    HIS   LATER    CAMPAIGNS.  319 

the  terms  of  capitulation,  Logan  himself  was  present, 
and  his  column  led  the  way  into  the  captured  stronghold 
on  July  4th.  The  Count  of  Paris  says  :  "  Logan's  divi 
sion  was  the  first  to  enter  Yicksburg.  *  *  *  It  had 
fully  deserved  this  honor.  Grant  rode  at  the  head" 

Grant  recognized  Logan's  services  in  the  siege  by 
making  him  Military  Governor  of  Yicksburg,  and  the 
Board  of  Honor  of  the  Seventeenth  Army  Corps  pre 
sented  to  him  a  gold  medal  inscribed  with  the  names  of 
the  nine  battles  in  which  he  had  been  most  distinguished 
for  heroism  and  generalship. 

Having  organized  his  administration  as  Military  Gov 
ernor  of  Yicksburg,  General  Logan  started  North,  in 
response  to  appeals  for  his  help  in  fighting  the  battles  of 
the  Union  on  the  soil  of  his  own  State. 

A   SERIES    OF   BRILLIANT   BATTLES. 

Having  aroused  the  flagging  zeal  of  the  people  whom 
he  addressed,  General  Logan  hastened  back  to  the  seat  of 
war,  and  in  November,  1863,  he  succeeded  General  Sher 
man  in  the  command  of  the  Fifteenth  Army  Corps, 
which  General  Grant  himself  had  formerly  commanded. 
It  was  this  corps  to  which  Logan  afterwards  gave  the 
famous  badge  "forty  rounds." 

Having  wintered  at  Huntsville,  Alabama,  General 
Logan  entered  the  Grand  Military  Division  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  to  make  the  campaign  of  1864  against  Atlanta 
under  Sherman,  who  described  the  Army  of  the  Tennes- 


320  LOGAN   IN    HIS   LATER    CAMPAIGNS. 

see  under  McPhcrson,  with  Logan  as  one  of  the  three 
corps  commanders,  as  "  the  snapper  of  the  whip  with 
which  he  proposed  to  punish  the  enemy." 

General  Logan  came  up  with  the  enemy,  in  consid 
erable  force,  about  two  miles  from  Resaca,  on  May  13th, 
and  in  the  struggle  which  followed  he  was  wounded  in 
the  arm,  and  received  a  severe  bruise  on  the  shoulder 
from  a  glancing  ball.  Logan  entered  the  town  of  Resaca 
at  daylight  on  the  16th,  pressing  the  enemy's  rear 
guard  so  closely  that  he  did  not  succeed  in  burning  but 
one  of  the  bridges  over  the  Costanaula  behind  him. 
During  the  three  days  and  nights  in  front  of  Resaca, 
General  Logan  never  left  his  men  for  a  moment, 
either  to  eat  or  to  sleep. 

Logan  again  overtook  the  enemy  at  Dallas,  and  a  wit 
ness  says  : 

"  No  soldier  who  witnessed  the  battle  of  Dallas  will 
ever  forget  how  grandly  Logan  looked  as,  with  uncovered 
head,  he  dashed  down  the  line  on  his  black  war-horse, 
amid  the  thickest  of  the  fight.  One  exultant  cheer  went 
up  from  the  soldiers  at  this  daring  act  of  their  chief, 
and,  fired  with  the  inspiration  of  the  moment,  they  re 
took  the  guns  and  drove  the  enemy  from  the  field.  Gen 
eral  Logan  received  a  wound  in  the  arm." 

Logan  was  at  General  Sherman's  headquarters  when 
the  assault  on  Kenesaw  was  decided  upon.  He  de 
clared  it  to  be  a  movement  which,  in  his  judgment, 


LOGAN   IN    HIS   LATER    CAMPAIGNS.  321 

would  be  nothing  less  than  the  murder  of  brave  men, 
but  he  obeyed  the  order  of  his  commander,  and  when 
he  returned  from  the  charge  upon  the  mountain,  he 
had  lost  sixty  officers  and  four  hundred  men,  and  his 
own  escape  had  been  almost  miraculous. 

THE   DEATH    OP   MCPHERSON. 

The  great  battle  of  Atlanta,  the  bloodiest  fought  in 
the  West,  resulted  in  the  death  of  General  McPherson, 
on  July  22.  Early  on  that  morning  an  officer  of  Sher 
man's  staff  arrived  at  McPherson's  headquarters,  and 
said :  "  General  Sherman  believes  that  the  enemy  has 
evacuated  Atlanta,  and  desires  you  to  move  rapidly 
forward  beyond  the  city  towards  East  Point,  leaving 
General  Dodge  of  the  sixteenth  corps  upon  the  railroad 
to  destroy  it  effectually." 

McPherson  was  incredulous,  but  ordered  Logan  to 
advance,  saying :  "  Major-General  Sherman  desires  and 
expects  a  vigorous  pursuit." 

He  then  rode  to  Logan's  headquarters  for  a  conference, 
but  on  the  way  shots  were  fired  which  confirmed  his 
opinion  that  Sherman  was  misinformed,  and  he  then 
ordered  Logan  to  go  into  position  for  battle.  Soon  after 
he  rode  over  to  Sherman's  headquarters  to  explain  his 
disregard  of  instructions.  Obtaining  approval  for  his 
conduct  he  was  returning  along  a  narrow  bridlepath, 
when  a  volley  was  fired  upon  him  by  a  stray  company  of 
Hardee's  corps,  and  killed. 


322  LOGAN    IN    HIS   LATER   CAMPAIGNS. 

General  Sherman  immediately  appointed  General 
Logan  to  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee, 
and  the  manner  in  which  he  checked  a  panic  and  saved 
the  day,  is  historic. 

Says  one  of  Logan's  men :  "  Never  shall  I  forget — 
never  will  one  of  us  who  survived  that  desperate  fight 
forget  to  our  dying  day — the  grand  spectacle  presented 
by  Logan  as  he  rode  up  and  down  in  front  of  the  line, 
his  black  eyes  flashing  fire,  his  long  black  hair  streaming 
in  the  wind,  bareheaded  and  his  service-worn  slouch  hat 
swinging  in  his  bridle  hand  and  his  sword  flashing 
in  the  other,  crying  out  in  stentorian  tones,  '  Boys ! 
McPlierson  and  revenge  ! '  It  made  my  blood  run  both 
hot  and  cold,  and  moved  every  man  of  us  to  follow  to 
the  death  the  brave  and  magnificent  hero-ideal  of  a 
soldier  who  made  this  resistless  appeal  to  all  that  is 
brave  and  gallant  in  a  soldier's  heart ;  and  this,  too, 
when  the  very  air  was  alive  with  whistling  bullets  and 
howling  shell.  And  if  he  could  only  have  been  painted 
as  he  swept  up  and  down  the  line  on  a  steed  as  full  of 
fire  as  his  glorious  rider,  it  would  to-day  be  one  of  the 
finest  battle  pictures  of  the  war." 

LOGAN   STRIKES   THE   BLOW   WHICH   WINS    ATLANTA. 

The  recovery  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  from  the 
terror  caused  by  the  death  of  its  commander  was  almost 
wholly  due  to  Logan's  exertions,  and  his  retention  as 


LOGAN   IN    HIS   LATER    CAMPAIGNS.  325 

McPherson's  permanent  successor  would  have  been  as 
gratifying  to  the  army  as  just  to  himself,  but  the  record 
says : 

"  By  order  of  the  President,  Gen.  Howard  assumes 
command.  This  was  upon  the  recommendation  of  Gen. 
Sherman,  who  admitted  that  General  Logan  was  entitled 
to  the  position,  but  was  not  an  academy  man." 

Resuming  the  command  of  his  corps,  Logan  faced  the 
enemy  in  the  battle  of  Ezra  Chapel,  on  the  28th  of  July, 
and  repulsed  the  rebel  army  completely. 

For  a  month  following  Logan  pushed  his  lines  for 
ward,  until  Sherman  decided  to  raise  the  siege  of  At 
lanta.  Logan  withdrew  from  position  in  front  of  Atlan 
ta  on  the  night  of  August  26th,  destroyed  the  West 
Point  railway,  and  then  drove  the  enemy  ten  miles  to 
Jonesboro',  arriving  before  that  place  on  August  30th. 
The  battle  which  followed  was  terrific,  and  it  virtually 
decided  the  fate  of  Atlanta,  which  city  was  almost 
immediately  evacuated,  Sherman's  army  entering  victo 
riously  on  Sept.  2,  1864. 

General  Logan  went  North  to  take  the  stump  for  Lin 
coln  in  the  campaign  of  1864,  but  joined  his  command 
at  Savannah,  and  marched  with  Sherman  through  the 
Carolinas,  and  after  the  surrender  of  Johnston's  army  on 
April  26,  1865,  he  returned  northward  with  the  victori 
ous  veterans,  and  passed  through  Washington  with  them 
as  they  returned  to  their  homes. 


CHAPTER    XX. 


LOGAN  IN  CONGRESS. 

Logan's  First  Appearance  in  National  Politics. — In  Congress  at 
the  beginning  of  the  War,  he  Resigns  to  Raise  a  Regiment. — He  Re 
turns  after  the  War  with  a  Famous  Majority. — Logan  and  the  An 
drew  Johnson  Impeachment. — Bitter  Disappointment  as  a  Manager 
at  the  Verdict  of  Acquittal. — Logan  and  the  Fitz-John  Porter  Case. — 
The  Peroration  of  His  Memorable  Speech  of  March  14,  1884.— His 
Sincerity  Commands  the  Respect  of  those  who  Dissent  from  his 
Views. — One  of  the  Busiest  Men  in  Washington. — Demands  upon 
Him  from  Every  State  in  the  Union. 

Logan  appeared  in  national  politics  as  a  Presidential 
elector  in  1856,  and  during  the  same  year  he  was  elected 
to  Congress  from  the  Ninth  Illinois  District,  and  he  was  a 
member  not  only  of  the  XXXYIth,  but  also  of  the 
XXXVIIth  Congress,  being  the  second  native  of  his 
State  to  represent  Illinois  in  Congressional  proceedings. 
Like  that  of  many  other  patriotic  men,  his  legislative 
career  was  interrupted  for  a  period  of  years  by  the  war 
to  save  the  Union,  but  in  his  case  the  manner  of  the  in 
terruption  was  so  extraordinary  that  it  will  ever  remain 

(326) 


LOGAN   IN    CONGRESS.  327 

one  of  the  most  interesting  episodes  in  the  great  struggle 
of  1861-5. 

THE   SAME   SPIRIT   IN    PEACE   AS   IN   WAR. 

In  another  chapter  an  account  has  been  given  of  Rep 
resentative  Logan's  visit  to  the  army  commanded  by 
General  McDowell  in  July,  1861,  accompanied  by  many 
other  members  of  Congress,  and  of  his  heroic  service  as 
a  private  to  stay  the  confederate  tide  which  was  sweeping 
almost  irresistibly  toward  Washington,  under  the  direc 
tion  of  General  Beauregard  supported  by  General  John 
ston.  The  quick  resolution,  courageous  action,  fearless 
energy  and  intensity  of  purpose  which  he  exhibited  in 
the  first  great  struggle  of  the  war  have  been  characteris 
tic  of  him  as  a  Congressman,  and  he  has  shrunk  from 
no  encounter  in  debate  and  retreated  from  no  conflict 
upon  the  floor  of  either  house,  when  impelled  by  a  sense 
of  duty  to  contend  for  the  success  or  the  defeat  of  any 
measure.  He  has  never  been  afraid  to  utter  bold  words 
and  assume  responsibility  for  them,  and  he  stamps  his 
daring  individuality  upon  all  he  utters.  Whatever  other 
charges  ignorance,  malice,  and  jealousy  may  have  trump 
ed  up  against  him,  that  of  cowardice  or  avoiding  the 
issue  has  never  been  made. 

Although  Logan  returned  to  his  seat  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  after  carrying  a  musket  in  the  first  battle 
of  Bull  Run,  when  Congress  adjourned  in  August,  he  re- 


328  LOGAN   IN    CONGRESS. 

turned  to  Illinois  to  raise  troops,  having  determined  to 
abandon  the  floor  of  legislation  for  the  field  of  battle. 
But  he  did  not  retire  from  Congress  without  striking 
effective  blows  for  the  Government.  He  was  sent  to 
Congress  as  a  Democrat,  and  he  had  earnestly  advocated 
the  election  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas  as  President,  yet  his 
patriotism  impelled  him  to  rebuke  those  who  threatened 
violence  in  the  event  of  the  "Little  Giant's"  defeat,  and 
he  openly  declared  that  he  hoped  Mr.  Lincoln  would  not 
be  elected,  yet  if  he  were,  and  his  election  should  provoke 
an  outbreak  of  the  hostile  southern  sentiment,  he  "  would 
shoulder  his  musket  to  have  him  inaugurated."  During 
the  session  of  Congress  in  the  winter  of  1860-61  he  re 
peatedly  arraigned  the  southern  members  for  their  dis 
loyalty,  and  asked  them  how  they  reconciled  their  open 
hostility  to  the  Government  with  their  oaths  to  support 
the  Constitution. 

HIS    FAMOUS   MAJORITY   AFTER   THE   WAR. 

After  the  war  Logan  was  offered  the  appointment  of 
Minister  to  Mexico,  by  President  Johnson  in  1865,  but  he 
declined  it,  and  in  the  following  year  he  was  honored 
by  Illinois  with  an  election  as  Congressman-at-large,  and 
took  his  seat  in  the  fortieth  Congress,  having  a  majority 
of  more  than  60,000.  The  impeachment  trial  of  Andrew 
Johnson  was  the  chief  Congressional  event  of  the  follow 
ing  year,  and  Logan  entered  into  the  proceedings  for  the 


LOGAN   IN    CONGRESS.  329 

removal  of  the  President  with  a  zeal  begotten  of  indigna 
tion.  He  regarded  the  conduct  of  Johnson  as  not  only 
ungrateful  and  unjust,  but  also  as  extremely  dangerous, 
and  as  one  of  the  managers  of  the  case  for  the  House  of 
Representatives  he  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  to 
secure  a  verdict  of  condemnation  from  the  Senate. 

Mr.  Ashley  of  Ohio  arose  in  his  seat  in  the  House 
on  January  7,  1867,  and  charged  the  "  Acting  President 
of  the  United  States"  with  the  commission  of  "high 
crimes  and  misdemeanors,  for  which  he  ought  to  be  im 
peached,"  and  specified  the  corrupt  use  of  the  appoint 
ing  power,  of  the  pardoning  power,  and  of  the  veto  power, 
a  corrupt  disposition  of  public  property  of  the  United 
States,  and  a  corrupt  interference  in  elections  as  offenses 
for  which  he  ought  to  be  tried.  For  more  than  a  year 
the  action  hung  in  the  House,  and  meanwhile  the  strug 
gle  between  the  President  and  Secretary  Stanton  was 
fierce,  and  the  possession  of  the  War  Department  was 
hotly  contested.  At  length  Congressmen  resolved  to  pro 
ceed  against  the  Chief  Executive,  regarding  his  attempt 
to  remove  Stanton  after  they  had  restored  him  as  intol 
erable,  and  on  February  22,  1868,  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  resolved,  by  a  vote  of  126  to  47,  "  that  An 
drew  Johnson,  President  of  the  United  States,  be  im 
peached  of  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors." 


830  LOGAN  IN  CONGRESS. 

LOGAN  AND  THE  IMPEACHMENT  CASE  YERDICT. 

The  Senate,  sitting  as  a  High  Court  of  Impeachment, 
with  Chief  Justice  Chase  presiding,  began  the  hearing 
on  March  20th,  and  the  case  took  about  two  months,  dur 
ing  which  time  it  was  the  sensation  of  the  whole  country. 
A  committee  had  prepared  nine  charges  when  the  mana 
gers  of  the  prosecution  were  appointed,  and  two  more 
articles  were  added  by  the  managers  themselves,  one  of 
them  accusing  the  President  of  seditious  speeches,  while 
"  swinging  around  the  circle,"  and  the  other  alleging  that 
he  had  declared  that  Congress  was  not  a  legal  body,  au 
thorized  to  exercise  legislative  powers.  The  examina 
tion  of  witnesses  was  continued  until  April  22d,  the 
arguments  of  counsel  were  finished  on  May  5th,  and  the 
Senators  took  twenty  days  for  debate.  When  the  fifty- 
four  Senators  present  cast  their  votes  for  a  verdict  it  was 
found  that  Johnson  had  been  acquitted  by  one  vote,  two- 
thirds  of  the  whole  being  required  for  conviction. 

As  a  manager  of  the  case  against  the  President,  Logan 
had  left  nothing  undone  which  he  thought  it  possible  to 
do  to  secure  a  result  in  accordance  with  his  sense  of 
justice,  and  the  escape  of  Johnson  was  a  bitter  disap 
pointment  to  him.  He  had  no  patience  with  traitors  or 
cowards  in  the  army,  and  he  was  equally  intolerant;  of 
disloyalty  or  unfaithfulness  to  the  government  in  civil 
life,  and  he  pursued  those  whom  he  believed  to  have  for 
feited  the  confidence  of  the  country,  either  in  military  or 


LOGAN   IN   CONGRESS.  331 

in  civil  office,  with  a  relentless  determination  to  drive 
them  from  power. 

LOGAN   AND   FITZ   JOHN   PORTER. 

His  part  in  the  case  of  Fitz  John  Porter  exhibits  the 
intensity  of  feeling  which  anything  having  an  aspect  of 
disloyalty  to  the  nation  always  excites  in  him,  and  the 
briefest  sketch  of  his  Congressional  career  would  be 
incomplete  without  an  allusion  to  his  furious  resistance  of 
the  attempt  to  restore  Porter  to  his  rank  in  the  army. 
Logan  was  a  member  of  the  House  continuously  until 
1871,  in  which  year  he  was  chosen  as  the  successor  of 
Senator  Dick  Yates  in  the  Senate,  and  although  at  the 
expiration  of  his  first  term  as  Senator  he  resumed  the 
practice  of  law  for  a  period  of  two  years,  he  returned  to 
the  Senate  as  the  successor  of  Governor  Oglesby  in  1879, 
and  so  he  was  able  to  follow  the  case  of  Porter  almost 
throughout  its  entire  progress  in  Congress. 

Porter,  who  was  Chief  of  staff  to  Generals  Patterson 
and  Banks  with  the  rank  of  Brigadier-General  of  Volun 
teers,  during  the  first  weeks  of  the  war,  was  assigned  to 
the  command  of  a  division  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
in  August  1861,  and  in  July  1862,  he  was  assigned  to 
the  command  of  the  Fifth  Army  Corps,  and  in  the  siege 
of  Yorktown  and  during  the  whole  Peninsular  campaign 
which  ended  with  the  battle  of  Malvern  Hills,  he  acquitted 
himself  so  creditably  that  at  General  McClellan's  request 
he  was  made  Major-General  of  Volunteers. 


332  LOGAN  IN  CONGRESS. 

PORTER'S  HUMILIATION. 

His  humiliation  came  after  his  attachment  to  the 
Army  of  Virginia,  and  for  his  failure  to  obey  orders 
issued  by  General  Pope  in  the  terrible  struggle  with 
Lee,  in  August,  1862,  he  was  removed  from  his  com 
mand.  At  McClellan's  request  he  was  restored  and  he 
accompanied  that  General  in  the  campaign  in  Maryland, 
but  in  November  he  was  ordered  to  Washington  for  trial 
by  Court-martial,  and  on  January  21,  1863,  he  was  cash 
iered  for  violation  of  the  ninth  and  fifty-second  Articles 
of  War.  In  1870  he  appealed  to  the  President  for  a 
reversal  of  the  sentence,  and  in  1878  a  commission  of 
inquiry  was  appointed  to  ascertain  whether  there  was 
evidence  to  warrant  a  new  trial.  The  decision  was  affirm 
ative,  and  the  relief  recently  afforded  to  General  Porter 
as  the  result  of  the  protracted  proceedings  in  his  case  is 
familiar  to  all. 

Although  General  Grant  was  convinced  by  a  reinvesti- 
gation  of  the  case,  that  Porter  was  ordered  to  do  an 
impossible  thing  and  was  therefore  justified  in  not  exe 
cuting  an  order  which  was  given  under  a  misapprehen 
sion,  Logan's  opinion  was  never  changed,  and  believing 
that  Porter  should  have  unquestioningly  obeyed,  as  he 
himself  would  have  done,  even  though  commanded  to 
march  to  certain  death,  he  felt  bound  to  oppose  the  move 
ment  for  his  restoration,  and  his  opposition  was  perhaps 
the  most  formidable  obstacle  the  friends  of  Porter  had 
to  encounter. 


LOGAN   IN   CONGRESS.  333 

A  LIST  OF  LOGAN'S  CHIEF  SPEECHES. 

Although  Logan  does  not  often  take  the  floor,  when 
he  does  speak  he  speaks  to  an  attentive  Chamber  and 
crowded  galleries.  In  his  various  tilts  with  "  Copper 
heads  "  in  the  House,  or  "Southern  Brigadiers"  in  the 
Senate,  he  always  vanquished  them.  Several  of  his 
speeches  at  the  time  attracted  wide  attention, — such,  for 
instance,  as  that  in  the  House  in  1867  on  the  Supple 
mentary  Reconstruction  Bill,  being  a  defense  of  the 
Republican  party  and  its  policy  in  the  South ;  that  in 
1869  on  the  Civil  Tenure  Office  Bill,  opposing  "  all  class 
legislation  in  any  form,"  and  "  all  perpetuities  of  office 
in  a  land  of  liberty  " ;  and  that  in  1870  against  bond 
subsidies  for  railroads.  In  the  Senate  his  speeches  have 
been  even  more  powerful  than  those  delivered  in  the 
House.  Never  did  the  Rebel  Brigadiers  have  more 
severe  handling  than  in  his  great  speech  of  two  days  in 
defense  of  President  Grant's  conduct  of  affairs  in  Lou 
isiana  and  of  Gen.  Sheridan. 

His  speech  in  1872,  iu  behalf  of  bills  for  the  relief  of 
Chicago,  then  lying  in  ashes,  was  a  vivid  description  of 
calamity,  and  a  powerful  appeal  for  assistance.  Another 
remarkable  speech,  fairly  bristling  with  comparative 
facts  and  statistics,  and  trenchant  deductions  therefrom 
was  that  on  specie  payments,  in  1879.  Another  on  the 
Army  Appropriation  Bill,  1879,  presents  a  clear  analysis 

of  the  relations  of  the  army  to  the  civil  power  of  the 
14 


334:  LOGAN   IN   CONGRESS. 

Government,  and  a  strong  denunciation  of  the  mischiev 
ous,  unconstitutional,  and  revolutionary  nature  of  the 
Democratic  attempt  to  conquer  Executive  approval  of 
obnoxious  "  riders  "  upon  appropriation  bills,  under  the 
threat  of  otherwise  withholding  appropriations.  His 
more  recent  set  speeches  in  the  Senate  on  education,  and 
the  Fitz-John  Porter  case  were  able  and  exhaustive,  the 
four-day-speech  of  1880,  on  the  bill  to  restore  Fitz-John 
Porter  to  the  army  and  pay  him  $60,000,  being  delivered 
before  a  listening  Senate  and  crowded  galleries  through 
out — with  Elaine,  and  Conkling,  and  Garfield,  and  Gen. 
Sherman,  and  even  Porter  himself  giving  their  absolute 
attention  to  the  array  of  military  law,  fact,  argument,  illus 
tration,  denunciation,  and  appeal  poured  forth  from  the 
eloquent  lips  of  this  warrior  statesman.  It  was  likened 
by  the  press  to  the  greatest  effort  of  Tom  Benton,  in 
length  and  force,  and  the  New  York  Tribune  said  of  it : 
"Probably  never  before  within  the  history  of  the  Senate 
has  a  speech,  lasting  through  the  sessions  of  four  days, 
been  listened  to  with  such  attention." 


CHAPTER  XXL 


LOGAN  IN  HIS  FAMILY. 

The  Scene  in  the  Logan  Home  in  Washington  after  the  Chicago 
Nomination.  —  The  Boarding  -  House  in  which  the  Logans  have 
spent  Twelve  Winters. —  "A  Remarkable  Wedded  Pair."  — Mrs. 
Logan's  Early  History.  — Brought  up  a  Baptist,  she  is  Educated  in 
a  Convent,  but  Marries  as  a  Methodist. — As  a  Girl  she  Aids  her 
Father,  as  she  afterwards  Aided  her  Husband.  —  Mrs.  Logan  dur 
ing  the  War.  —  The  Logan  Children.  —  Mrs.  Logan's  Ambition.  — 
Not  Rich,  a  House  in  Chicago  and  a  Farm  in  Southern  Illinois. — 
An  Evening  with  Logan  at  Home.  —  Mrs.  Logan's  Personal  Appear 
ance. 

A  glimpse  at  the  home  of  Senator  Logan  on  Friday 
evening,  June  6tlf,  just  after  his  nomination  at  Chicago, 
affords  the  imagination  material  for  a  picture  of  the 
domestic  life  of  the  Logan  family.  At  ten  o'clock 
General  Logan  was  sitting  in  a  little  upper  room  in  his 
modest  boarding-house  in  Washington,  by  the  side  of  a 
telegraph  instrument  which  was  connected  directly  with 
the  convention  hall  in  Chicago,  conversing  with  a  friend 
concerning  the  events  of  the  day.  The  room  was  the 
little  chamber  occupied  by  Manning  Logan  the  son  of 

the  Senator,  then  at  West  Point.     While  in  Washington 

(335) 


336  LOGAN   IN   HIS   FAMILY. 

the  family  reside  at  No.  812  Twelfth  street,  occupying 
two  rooms  in  the  same  boarding-house  in  which  they 
have  lived  for  twelve  years. 

All  the  doors  and  windows  were  open  to  catch  the 
evening  breeze,  and  the  lights  were  turned  down  except 
at  a  desk  in  one  corner,  where  the  General's  secretary 
sat  writing.  In  the  adjoining  front  room  Mrs.  Logan 
was  conversing  with  a  party  numbering  eight  or  ten 
ladies  and  two  or  three  gentlemen. 

A  card  was  brought  in  to  the  General  by  a  colored 
waiter,  followed  on  the  instant  by  two  or  three  perspir 
ing  gentlemen,  who  seized  General  Logan's  hand  and 
shook  it  heartily,  offering  him  congratulations.  More 
gentlemen  entered.  Loud  shouts  came  up  from  the 
street.  Somebody  proposed  three  cheers  for  something. 
A  sound  of  drums  approaching  from  a  distance  lent 
its  help  to  swell  the  noise.  "  Speech  !  "  "  Speech  !  " 
shouted  a  crowd  of  a  thousand  men  in  the  street.  The 
General  was  cheered  vociferously  when  he  made  his 
appearance,  and  when  silence  was  secured  he  said : 
"  Friends,  I  thank  you  for  your  cordial  greeting  to-night. 
I  am  not  prepared  to  make  a  speech.  Again  I  thank 
you.  Good-night."  The  General  and  Mrs.  Logan  were 
now  conducted  back  to  the  parlor  of  the  mansion,  and 
the  doors  being  thrown  open  the  crowd  pressed  in. 
Forming  in  line,  they  filed  past,  shaking  the  hands  of 
both  the  General  and  his  wife.  In  half  an  hour  they 


LOGAN   IN   HIS   FAMILY.  837 

were  gone,  and  General  Logan  had  an  opportunity  to 
read  the  paper  which  Mrs.  Logan  had  brought  him  as 
the  scene  began.  It  proved  to  be  an  Associated  Press 
bulletin  announcing  his  nomination  by  acclamation  for 
the  Vice-Presidency. 

The  apartments  of  the  Logan  family  are  visited  by 
people  from  every  State  in  the  Union  who  desire  the  aid 
of  Senator  Logan,  and  yet  all  is  so  ordered  that  there  is 
no  confusion,  and  while  the  Senator  is  engaged  with  the 
business  of  some  caller  from  a  distance,  Mrs.  Logan 
may  be  entertaining  a  group  of  friends  in  the  adjoining 
room,  and  when  the  guests  have  departed,  the  cosy 
apartments  witness  a  domestic  scene  like  that  following 
the  congratulations  of  the  Friday  evening  of  the  Chicago 
nomination. 

MRS.  LOGAN'S  EARLY  HISTORY. 

They  were  so  one  that  neither  one  could  say 
Whether  did  rule,  or  whether  did  obey; 
He  ruled  because  she  would  obey,  and  she, 
In  so  obeying  ruled  as  well  as  he. 

Foley's  lines  about  "  A  remarkable  wedded  pair  "  apply 
most  aptly  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Logan.  It  is  seldom  that  so 
happy  a  marriage  union  as  theirs  is  formed,  and  the 
term  "  helpmeet "  was  never  more  applicable  to  a  wife 
than  to  Mrs.  Logan. 

An  intimate  friend  gives  her  early  history  as  follows : 
"  The  American  ancestry  of  Mrs.  Logan  goes  back  to  a 


338  LOGAN   IN   HIS  FAMILY. 

sturdy  Irish  settler  of  Virginia  and  a  French  pioneer  of 
Louisiana.  Her  great-grandfather,  Robert  Cunningham, 
of  Virginia,  was  a  soldier  of  the  war  for  Independence, 
after  which  he  removed  to  Tennessee,  thence  to  Alabama, 
and  thence  to  Illinois,  when  still  a  territory,  and  there 
manumitted  his  slaves.  Her  father,  Captain  John  M. 
Cunningham,  served  in  the  fierce  Black  Hawk  war.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  Illinois  in  1845  and 
1846,  and  served  in  the  Mexican  war.  Her  mother  was 
Elizabeth  Fontaine,  of  a  distinguished  family  of  that 
name  which  had  arrived  in  Louisiana  during  the  French 
occupancy  of  that  country,  and  had  thence  journeyed  up 
the  Mississippi  river  and  settled  in  Missouri.  It  was 
here  that  John  Cunningham  met  his  bride,  and  it  was 
near  the  present  village  of  Sturgeon,  then  known  as 
Petersburg,  in  Boone  County,  Mo.,  that  Mary  Simmerson 
Logan  was  born,  on  August  15,  1838.  When  she  was 
one  year  old  her  parents  removed  to  Illinois  and  settled 
in  Marion,  Williamson  County.  It  was  here  that  the 
mother  and  her  oldest  daughter,  then  but  nine  years  old, 
shared  the  dangers  of  a  frontier  home  and  the  cares  and 
solicitude  of  a  growing  family,  when  the  husband  arid 
father  went  forth  to  fight  the  battles  of  his  country 
upon  the  parched  plains  of  Mexico  and  braved  the 
trials  and  privations  of  a  miner's  life  in  the  Sierras  of 
California. 

"  This  courageous  and  dutiful  little  girl  relieved  her 


LOGAN  IN   HIS   FAMILY.  339 

mother,  who  was  not  strong,  of  most  of  the  household 
work,  and  still  found  time  to  attend  the  primitive  school 
of  the  neighborhood  and  train  herself  in  useful  needle 
work. 

HER   LOVE   OF    STUDY. 

"  The  father  felt  a  just  pride  in  his  eldest  daughter. 
The  assistance  which  she  had  rendered  her  mother 
during  his  long  absence  in  Mexico  and  California  had 
even  more  closely  endeared  her  to  his  heart,  and  her 
love  of  study  had  prompted  him  to  give  part  of  his 
income  to  her  proper  education.  Accordingly,  in  1853, 
the  daughter  was  sent  to  the  Convent  of  St.  Vincent, 
near  Morganfield,  Ky.,  a  branch  of  the  Nazareth  Insti 
tute,  the  oldest  institution  of  the  kind  in  the  country. 
This  was  the  nearest  educational  establishment  of  suf 
ficient  advancement  in  the  higher  branches  of  knowl 
edge.  The  young  lady  was  reared  a  Baptist ;  after  her 
marriage  she  joined  the  Methodist  Church,  the  church 
of  the  Logan  family. 

HOW   SHE   BECAME   LOGAN'S   WIFE. 

"Having  graduated  in  1855,  Miss  Cunningham  re 
turned  to  her  father's  home  at  Shawneetown.  In  her 
younger  days,  when  a  mere  child,  she  had  aided  her 
father  as  Sheriff  of  the  county,  Clerk  of  the  Court  and 
Register  of  the  Land  Office  in  preparing  his  papers. 
Those  were  not  the  days  of  blank  forms  for  legal  docu- 


340  LOGAN   IN   HIS  FAMILY. 

mcnts.  Accordingly  the  father  depended  upon  the 
daughter  to  make  copies  for  him.  While  Mary  Cun 
ningham  was  thus  aiding  her  father  in  his  official  duties 
John  Logan  was  Prosecuting  Attorney  of  the  district. 
He  had  known  Father  Cunningham  and  was  his  warm 
friend.  He  had  known  the  daughter  as  a  little  girl. 
In  1855  they  were  married  and  at  once  went  to  the 
young  attorney's  home  at  Benton,  Franklin  County. 
The  bride  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  but  her  young  life 
had  already  been  one  of  usefulness  to  her  mother  and 
of  great  service  to  her  father. 

"  The  young  wife  immediately  installed  herself  in  the 
place  of  companion  and  helpmeet  to  her  husband.  She 
accompanied  him  on  all  his  professional  journeys, 
an  undertaking  in  those  days  of  wildernesses  and 
no  roads  often  requiring  great  endurance  and  privation. 
In  1856  the  devoted  wife  saw  her  husband  triumphantly 
elected  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  and  in  the  famous 
Douglas  and  Lincoln  Senatorial  contest  he  was  elected  as 
a  Douglas  Democrat  to  Congress.  In  all  these  hard- 
fought  political  campaigns  the  noble  wife  went  with  her 
husband,  assisting  in  much  of  his  work  of  correspond 
ence  and  copying,  and  frequently  Deceiving  his  friends 
and  conferring  with  them  on  the  details  of  the  campaign. 
When  Mr.  Logan  came  to  Congress  as  a  Representative, 
Mrs.  Logan  came  with  him.  She  remained  with  him  in 
Washington  until  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion  when  he 


LOGAN    IN    HIS    FAMILY.  341 

resigned  his  seat  in  Congress  to  return  to  Illinois  to  go 
into  the  service  of  his  country. 

MRS.    LOGAN   DURING   THE   WAR. 

"  The  war  having  commenced  and  Mr.  Logan  having 
raised  and  been  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Thirty- 
first  Illinois  Volunteers,  Mrs.  Logan,  with  her  only  living 
child,  then  three  years  old  (now  Mrs.  Tucker),  returned 
to  her  father's  home  at  Marion.  The  Illinois  troops  hav 
ing  been  'ordered  into  camp  at  Cairo,  Mrs.  Logan  joined 
her  husband  there.  During  the  fierce  battle  of  Belmont 
Mrs.  Logan  heard  the  booming  of  the  guns  across  the 
turbid  flood  of  the  Mississippi.  In  the  midst  of  painful 
and  anxious  suspense  for  the  safety  of  her  own,  of  whom 
'she  felt  that  he  was  in  the  thickest  of  the  conflict,  she 
gave  a  helping  hand  to  the  care  of  the  wounded  and 
suffering  soldiers  as  they  were  brought  back  from  that 
bloody  field. 

"  When  the  army  entered  upon  the  Tennessee  river 
campaign  Mrs.  Logan  again  returned  to  her  home,  but 
was  soon  shocked  by  the  news  from  Donelson  that  her 
husband  had  fallen  at  the  head  of  his  charging  columns, 
dangerously  wounded.  She  hastened  to  the  scene  to  care 
for  her  husband.  For  days  it  was  a  struggle  between 
life  and  death. 

"At  Memphis,  in  the  winter  of  1862-3,  Mrs.  Logan 

again  joined  her  husband,  now  a  general,  and  remained 
14* 


342  LOGAN    IN    HIS    FAMILY. 

there  until  he  led  his  troops  in  the  campaign  which  ended 
in  the  surrender  of  Vicksburg. 

"  During  this  time  and  to  the  end  of  the  war  Mrs. 
Logan  remained  at  Carbondale,  where,  out  of  the-  gen 
eral's  salary,  they  had  bought  an  unpretentious  home. 
Upon  his  return  from  the  war,  General  Logan  was  nom 
inated  by  acclamation  for  Congressman-at-Large.  After 
his  election  Mrs.  Logan  returned  to  Washington,  and  has 
been  one  of  the  prominent  figures  in  Washington  society 


THE  LOGAN   CHILDREN. 

Indefatigable  and  efficient  as  Mrs.  Logan  has  been  as 
the  helpmeet  of  her  husband,  she  has  not  neglected  her 
duties  as  a  mother.  She  has  two  children,  a  daughter, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Paymaster  Tucker,  of  the  army,  now 
stationed  at  Santa  Fe,  and  a  son,  Manning,  who  is  a 
cadet  at  West  Point,  having  inherited  his  father's  mili 
tary  ambition.  The  tastes  of  the  youth  are  revealed  by 
the  photographs  of  military  heroes  and  various  trap 
pings  of  war  with  which  he  decorated  the  walls  of  his 
room  in  Washington  before  his  appointment  as  a  cadet. 

One  who  knows  the  family  well  says  of  Mrs.  Logan's 
devotion  to  her  children  :  "  Both  of  them  have  been 
educated  by  her  or  under  her  personal  supervision  ;  both 
have  been  constantly  at  her  side ;  in  the  camp,  during 
war  time,  and  in  the  most  exciting  political  campaigns, 


LOGAN   IN    HIS    FAMILY.  343 

Blic  lias  never  for  a  moment  neglected  the  duties  of  her 
household  or  forgotten  her  children's  claims." 

But  Mrs.  Logan's  activities  are  not  confined  to  the 
welfare  of  her  family.  As  a  society  woman  she  is  grace 
ful  and  accomplished ;  in  charities  she  is  always  active 
and  generous ;  and  as  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Church 
she  has  been  devoted  and  pre-eminently  useful. 

MRS.  LOGAN'S  AMBITION. 

In  correcting  a  false  impression  as  to  the  assistance 
she  renders  to  her  husband,  she  has  admirably  expressed 
her  own  aim  in  life,  and  her  view  of  the  ambition  of  the 
majority  of  American  women,  as  follows : 

"  A  great  deal  has  been  said  at  different  times  about 
the  assistance  1  rendered  to  the  General  in  the  perform 
ance  of  his  public  duties.  J  aid  him  by  relieving  him 
of  many  details,  but  it  is  not  right  to  say  that  I  write 
his  speeches,  because  it  is  not  correct.  I  take  charge  of 
his  correspondence,  and  I  do  this  because  the  General  is 
very  conscientious.  I  read  all  his  letters  and  lay  all 
their  contents  before  him.  Most  public  men  are  at  the 
mercy  of  their  private  secretaries,  who  do  not  have  their 
interests  at  heart  and  who  often  abuse  the  confidence 
reposed  in  them.  Every  correspondent  making  a  reason 
able  request  is  entitled  to^some  sort  of  a  response.  The 
General  has  never  deceived  any  one,  because  he  has 
known  the  contents  of  all  his  correspondence.  I  have 


344  LOGAN   IN    HIS    FAMILY. 

also  done  much  copying  and  have  marked  authorities  on 
various  subjects  upon  which  he  proposed  to  speak.  1 
belong  to  that  class  of  American  women  who  feel  that 
the  glory  of  their  husbands  is  their  glory.  I  chose 
rather  to  shine  in  the  reflected  light  of  my  husband  than 
to  put  myself  forward.  It  has  always  been  rny  sole 
ambition  to  be  a  good  and  useful  wife  and  a  true  mother. 
I  have  been  the  companion  of  my  husband  and  I  think 
this  is  the  sole  ambition  of  the  great  mass  of  American 
women,  as  it  should  be." 

Senator  Logan  is  not  rich,  and  it  seems  to  have  been 
the  ambition  of  neither  himself  nor  his  wife  to  amass 
wealth.  The  Logan  residence  in  Chicago  is  on  Calumet 
Avenue,  the  house  being  the  General's  own  property. 
He  also  has  a  farm  near  his  old  home  in  Southern  Illi 
nois,  and  these  possessions  are  said  to  constitute  his 
entire  wealth.  The  Chicago  house  is  estimated  to  be 
worth  from  $25,000  to  $30,000. 

SENATOR   LOGAN   AT   HOME. 

Senator  Logan  is  a  delightful  conversationalist,  and 
one  who  has  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  his  home,  says 
of  his  extensive  information,  as  exhibited  in  his  familiar 
intercourse  with  friends :  "  He  is  not  a  specialist  in 
any  particular  field,  which  is  the  way  a  man  usually 
acquires  fame  ;  his  taste  is  omnivorous,  like  Humboldt's, 
and  his  favorite  books  are  the  Bible,  Shakspeare,  and 


LOGAN   IN    HIS    FAMILY.  345 

Cosmos.  An  evening  spent  in  hearing  him  defend  the 
truths  of  the  Bible,  discourse  upon  classical  literature, 
or  take  you  to  the  region  of  the  Yellowstone,  where  the 
Almighty's  agents  in  the  shape  of  the  forces  are  putting 
on  the  weird  touches  of  creative  art,  affords  an  intellect 
ual  delight  which  memory  holds  long  among  her  treas 
ures." 

He  never  assumes  to  possess  literary  ability,  although 
he  has  talent  in  this  direction  of  a  high  order.  A  short 
drama  written  under  the  impulse  of  the  moment  to 
amuse  the  young  people  of  the  house  during  the  Christ 
mas  holidays,  gave  proof  of  what  he  might  have  done 
had  he  practiced  with  the  pen  as  assiduously  in  earlier 
life  as  he  practiced  with  the  sword. 

MRS.  LOGAN'S  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE. 
Mrs.  Logan  is  tall,  with  well-rounded  figure,  a  hand 
some,  intelligent  face,  hair  almost  as  white  as  the  driven 
snow,  in  marked  contrast  with  the  raven  locks  of 
"  Black  Jack,"  her  husband.  She  is  one  of  the  most 
popular  and  brilliant  women  in  society.  In  figure  she 
and  Mrs.  Blaine  are  much  alike,  and  in  face  they  are 
somewhat  similar.  In  gentleness  of  manner  arid  tact 
as  a  politician  and  social  leader,  she  is  surpassed  by 
few.  She  has  been  active  in  all  her  husband's  cam 
paigns,  and  in  ability  to  entertain  and  make  friends,  she 
is  equaled  by  few  women  in  public  life.  The  campaign 


846  LOGAN   IN    HIS   FAMILY. 

will  find  Mrs.  Logan  exerting  all  her  energy  for  the 
success  of  her  husband,  and  with  that  the  success  of 
the  Republican  ticket.  The  mass  of  correspondence 
pouring  in  from  day  to  day,  she  dispatches  with  her 
own  hands  and  the  aid  of  a  stenographer.  She  also 
lends  her  presence  to  the  numerous  visits  of  congratu 
lation  from  committees  and  individuals  from  all  parts 
of  the  country. 

An  enthusiastic  correspondent  said  of  her  shortly 
before  the  Chicago  Convention :  "  Self-sacrificing  and 
absolutely  devoted  to  her  husband's  best  interests,  she 
is  also  a  most  affable,  charming,  bright,  and  clear 
headed  lady  in  society.  Always  at  ease  herself,  she 
sets  all  others  in  her  presence  at  ease  —  at  once  a 
womanly  woman,  and  yet  with  those  vivid  and  just  per 
ceptions  in  and  knowledge  of  public  affairs  which 
befit  a  statesman's  wife,  and  she  is  better  fitted  to 
occupy  the  proud  eminence  of  "  first  lady  in  the  land," 
than  any  lady  in  the  White  House  since  the  days  of 
Lady  Washington,  whom  she  somewhat  resembles." 


CHAPTER   XXII. 


LOGAN  AND  HIS  FRIENDS. 

Logan's  First  Appearance  in  the  Senate  After  the  Nomination. — 
His  Relations  with  Brother  Senators. — The  Sentiments  of  Edmunds 
and  Other  Senators  Toward  Him. — The  Secret  of  his  Friendships. — 
General  Grant's  Estimate  of  Him. — Logan  and  General  Thomas. — 
His  Social  Instincts  Illustrated  by  a  Story. — Logan  and  the  Soldiers. 
— His  Devotion  to  their  Interests  While  in  Congress. — One  of  the 
Founders  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. — Logan's  Admirers 
in  the  South. — Logan  and  his  Constituents.  — Logan  and  Laboring 
Men.  — His  Tribute  to  Elaine. — His  Speech  of  Acceptance. 

Senator  Logan  entered  the  Senate  Chamber  for  the 
first  time  after  his  nomination  as  the  Republican  candi 
date  for  Y ice-President  on  Monday,  June  9th,  arriving 
during  the  prayer,  which  brought  him  to  a  sudden  halt 
at  the  main  entrance,  where  he  at  once  took  the  "  first 
position  of  a  soldier,"  and  remained  as  motionless  as  a 
statue  until  the  chaplain  ceased  to  pray.  The  scene 
which  followed  discloses  the  peculiarly  cordial  relatives 
which  exist  between  him  and  his  brother  Senators. 
When  his  presence  was  discovered  he  was  immediately 

(347) 


348  LOGAN    AND    HIS   FRIENDS. 

met  and  surrounded  by  a  group  of  Republican  Senators, 
and  congratulations  and  cordial  handshaking  was  the 
order  for  quite  a  little  while.  The  Senator,  being  inter 
cepted  on  his  way  to  the  coat-room,  still  holding  his  hat, 
having  only  the  use  of  one  hand  for  shaking,  was  grasped 
by  both  hands  by  one  after  another  of  his  friends,  and 
when  he  reached  the  cloak-room,  he  was  immediately 
followed  by  other  gentlemen  eager  to  express  their  good 
feeling  toward  the  prospective  President  of  the  Senate. 
The  greetings  were  very  cordial  on  the  Republican  side, 
and  it  was  observed  that  a  few  of  the  Democrats  left 
their  seats  to  congratulate  him.  When  Logan  reached 
his  seat,  the  venerable  Vermont  Senator  came  toward  his 
desk  and  engaged  in  a  lengthy  and  apparently  hearty 
conversation.  Senator  Don  Cameron  took  a  seat  along 
side,  and  the  two  engaged  in  a  quiet  and  extended  talk, 
and  judging  from  the  occasional  outbreaks  of  laughter  of 
both,  the  subject  must  have  been  agreeable.  Senator 
Frye,  who  had  just  returned  from  a  fishing  excursion  to 
Maine,  looking  quite  sunburned,  seemed  to  enjoy  the 
opportunity  of  congratulating  Mr.  Logan. 

THE   SECRET   OF   LOGAN'S   FRIENDSHIPS. 

Senator  Edmunds  remarked,  when  the  indications 
pointed  to  the  nomination  of  Logan  for  the  Vice-Presi 
dency  :  "  I  don't  see  but  it  is  the  best  thing  they  can 
possibly  do.  The  soldier  element  will  be  most  fittingly 


LOGAN    AND    HIS   FRIENDS.  349 

recognized  in  the  selection."  Senator  Harrison  said: 
"  We  have  never  had  a  stronger  candidate  for  the  Vice- 
Presidency.  Logan  is  a  brave,  sincere,  and  able  man. 
He  served  in  two  wars,  and  carries  three  wounds.  The 
soldiers  will  rally  to  him  in  force.  We  can  carry 
Indiana  for  the  ticket.  I  have  no  doubt  of  it." 

The  prompt  indorsement  by  the  somewhat  frigid  Ver 
mont  Senator  is  quite  as  significant  as  the  ardor  of  Sen 
ator  Harrison's  support,  and  indicates  that  there  are 
in  Logan  qualities  of  manliness  which  challenge  the 
respect  and  esteem  of  his  associates  in  the  Senate,  even 
when  he  is  not  in  agreement  with  them  as  to  questions 
of  public  policy.  He  certainly  does  not  avoid  conflict  in 
debate  from  the  fear  of  alienating  friends.  He  is  usually 
in  his  seat  or  in  the  committee-room,  being  attentive  to 
his  duties.  At  times,  says  a  Washington  correspondent, 
when  he  desires  to  listen  to  a  discussion  without  taking 
part,  he  retires  to  the  pleasant  smoking-room  to  the  right 
of  the  middle  entrance  to  the  chamber,  often  emerging 
suddenly  from  his  retreat  to  take  a  hand  in  debate.  He 
loves  a  warm  discussion,  is  not  averse  to  getting  into  a 
dispute,  and  always  bears  down  heavily  on  his  antagonist, 
yielding  nothing  and  fighting  every  inch  of  ground  with 
such  vigor  that  the  other  is  usually  glad  to  retire  in  the 
best  possible  order. 


350  LOGAN  AND  HIS  FRIENDS. 

LOGAN  AND  GENERAL  GRANT. 

Whoever  has  had  even  a  casual  and  brief  conversa 
tion  with  General  Grant  is  aware  that  there  is  a  singular 
charm  in  his  simplicity  and  directness,  and  evident  gen 
uineness,  which  never  fades  from  the  memory  ;  and  a 
similar  impression  is  made  by  General  Logan.  It  is,  per 
haps,  because  of  qualities  of  resemblance  in  them  that 
the  two  men  have  been  such  steadfast  friends  during  all 
the  years  since  the  war  brought  them  together. 

An  amusing  story  is  told  of  the  two  which  illustrates 
not  only  their  personal  characteristics  but  also  their 
thorough  understanding  of  each  other.  When  some  one 
said  to  President  Grant  that  Senator  Logan  seemed 
rather  inclined  to  complain  of  the  administration,  the 
President  smiled,  and  answered  that  he  knew  Logan 
well.  "He  is  critical  by  nature,"  he  said,  "  and  always 
speaks  his  opinion.  During  the  war,  "while  we  lay 
in  camp,  nobody  commented  more  sharply  upon  the 
little  slips  and  blunders  than  John  Logan,  but  when 
the  order  came  to  march  no  corps  was  in  more  per 
fect  order,  none  moved  more  promptly,  and  none  was 
more  bravely  led  than  John  Logan's.  He  will  criticise 
the  administration  just  as  often  and  as  sharply  as  he 
chooses,  but  he  will  give  no  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemy.' ' 

Logan  is  sometimes  called  a  chronic  growler,  and  Gen. 
Grant  once  said  that  he  "  was  never  at  peace  except 
in  war."  He  thrives  on  opposition,  and  is  never  so  cool 


LOGAN    AND    HIS    FRIENDS.  351 

or  so  good-natured  as  when  he  is  in  the  midst  of  an 
exciting  contest.  Gen.  Grant,  when  he  was  in  the  White 
House,  once  described  his  characteristics  by  comparing 
him  with  the  late  Oliver  P.  Morton.  "  Morton  will  come 
to  me,"  said  Grant,  "  with  two  requests.  I  will  grant 
one  of  them,  and  he  will  go  away  boasting  of  his  influ 
ence  with  the  administration.  Logan  will  come  with 
thirteen  requests.  I  will  grant  twelve  of  them,  and  he 
will  go  away  swearing  that  his  wishes  are  never  com 
plied  with." 

LOGAN   AND   GENERAL   THOMAS. 

General  Thomas  perceived  the  sterling  qualities  of 
Logan's  character,  and  an  authentic  incident  of  their 
relations,  and  one  which  the  friends  of  that  great  soldier, 
"  the  Rock  of  Chicamauga,"  are  never  weary  in  telling, 
reveals  the  fidelity  of  Logan's  friendship.  Logan  had 
been  cut  off  from  joining  his  command  for  the  march  to 
the  sea,  and  subsequently  reported  to  City  Point  for 
orders.  He  reached  there  just  after  the  first  order  for 
General  Thomas's  removal  before  Nashville  had  been 
telegraphed  to  Washington,  and  its  promulgation  delayed. 
For  the  second  time  General  Grant  had  become  exceed 
ingly  impatient,  and  decided  to  remove  Thomas.  Upon 
the  appearance  of  Logan,  Grant  ordered  him  to  proceed 
at  once  to  Nashville  and  await  orders.  His  instructions 
contemplated  his  relieving  General  Thomas,  if  on  his  arri 
val  no  attack  had  been  made  upon  Hood.  Here  was  a  most 


352  LOGAN    AND    HIS   FRIENDS. 

brilliant  position  offered — that  of  Commander  of  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland,  just  as  it  had  been  reorganized 
and  put  in  order  for  battle,  and  stood  in  its  trenches 
ready  for  the  word  to  advance.  Had  ambition  alone 
actuated  him,  here  was  an  opportunity  of  a  lifetime  of 
active  service.  But  instead  of  obeying  the  spirit  of 
his  instructions,  he  proceeded  with  such  deliberation  as 
to  prove  beyond  room  for  cavil  that  self-seeking  was  not 
the  motive  which  controlled  Logan  in  the  war. 

He  moved  to  his  new  post  without  undue  haste.  He 
seemed  to  appreciate  the  situation  far  better  than  Grant 
himself.  His  leisurely  journey  to  Nashville  gave  time 
for  the  battle  to  open  under  Thomas.  And  when  it 
opened  Logan  telegraphed  announcing  the  beginning  of 
Thomas's  success,  and  asking  tg  be  ordered  to  his  old 
command. 

"  There  is  nothing  in  Logan's  military  history  more 
creditable  than  this,"  says  an  eld  war  correspondent. 
"  Many  thousand  veterans  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumber 
land  will  have  this  chapter  in  particular  remembrance 
when  they  vote  this  fall,  and  none  who  read  about  it 
and  admire  fair  play  will  be  apt  to  forget  it." 

LOGAN'S  SOCIAL  INSTINCTS. 

Although  stern  as  an  officer  and  sometimes  even  fierce 
in  his  demeanor  toward  his  men,  Logan  has  social  quali 
ties  which  make  him  a  charming  companion,  as  an 


LOGAN   AND    HIS   FRIENDS.  353 

incident  worth  telling  for  its  intrinsic  interest,  apart 
from  its  illustrative  value,  may  show. 

An  officer  who  served  in  the  same  division  with  Gen. 
Logan  in  the  early  part  of  the  war  tells  the  following 
story : 

"  That  Logan  was  a  brave  man  everybody  who  ever 
saw  him  in  battle  can  testify,  and  the  same  is  the  case 
with  everybody  who  tried  a  hand  against  him  in  a  game 
of  poker.  It  takes  nerve  to  handle  the  cards  at  poker, 
and  Black  Jack  had  plenty  of  it ;  it  takes  coolness  and 
audacity  to  win  at  the  game,  and  I  need  say  no  more 
than  that  few  players  were  able  to  get  away  with  him. 
Everybody  played  poker  in  those  times ;  even  the  chap 
lains  used  to  take  a  turn  at  it,  and  the  only  difference 
between  them  and  the  rest  of  the  boys  was  that  a  chap 
lain  was  not  expected  to  raise  the  ante,  or  bluff  on  a 
4  jack-pot.'  On  the  other  hand,  the  etiquette  of  the  game 
forbade  any  of  us  to  raise  a  chaplain  above  two  dollars 
and  a  half,  no  matter  what  the  provocation.  I've  laid 
down  four  queens,  or  a  flush,  and  seen  Jack  Logan  do 
the  same,  and  let.  the  chaplain  rake  in  the  pile  rather 
than  raise  him,  though  we  might  have  lifted  him  out  of 
his  boots  without  half  trying. 

"  While  we  were  passing  away  the  time  in  camp,  wait 
ing  for  a  chance  to  move  on  the  enemy,  there  was  noth 
ing  like  poker  to  keep  the  intellectual  faculties  in  active 
operation.  When  Jack  Logan  was  one  of  a  party  it  was 


854  LOGAN   AND   HIS   FRIENDS. 

a  picture  to  be  remembered.  He  would  draw  his  slouch 
hat  down  over  his  eyes  and  conceal  as  much  of  his  face 
as  possible,  and  when  the  cards  were  dealt  he  held  them 
close  up  to  his  chin,  in  order  to  prevent  any  distraction 
of  the  bystanders  or  the  other  players.  You  couldn't 
tell  from  his  manner  whether  he  held  four  kings  or  only 
a  pair  of  deuces ;  a  royal  flush  or  a  bob-tail  were  all  the 
same  to  him,  so  far  as  any  outward  sign  indicated,  and 
while  the  betting  was  going  on  he  was  as  silent  as  a 
cemetery,  except  when  it  was  his  turn  to  spea,k.  He 
never  showed  up  his  cards  unless  he  was  obliged  to  by 
the  rules  of  the  game.  One  night  when  a  bystander 
tried  to  examine  Jack's  hand  after  he  had  '  laid  down,' 
the  latter  took  out  his  revolver  and  put  it  on  the  table, 
with  the  quiet  remark,  c  Don't  try  that  on  again ;'  and  he 
didn't  try. 

"  The  only  time  I  ever  knew  Jack  to  be  outmatched 
was  once  during  the  siege  of  Vicksburg.  The  troops 
were  mostly  camped  on  the  shore,  while  the  transport 
steamboats  were  tied  up  to  the  bank  at  Duncan's  Land 
ing.  We  used  to  put  in  the  evenings  on  the  transports, 
and  the  old  hands  showed  the  greenhorns  how  to  play 
poker ;  it  was  sometimes  expensive  for  the  students,  as 
you  can't  learn  to  play  poker  without  its  costing  you 
something.  There  were  a  lot  of  newspaper  correspond 
ents,  cotton  speculators,  army  contractors,  and  other 
civilians,  around  there ;  they  were  generally  good  fellows 


LOGAN    AND    HIS   FRIENDS.  855 

and,  what  was  more,  they  usually  had  money,  which  was 
not  the  case  with  the  officers,  as  the  government  was  not 
prompt  in  paying  us. 

"  One  night,  on  the  transport  John  H.  Dickey,  there 
was  a  correspondent  who  had  just  come  down  from  Cairo 
and  was  making  the  acquaintance  of  the  crowd  by  set 
ting  up  the  drinks  and  telling  stories.  We  started  a 
game  of  poker  at  twenty-five  cents  ante  and  asked  him 
to  take  a  hand.  He  hesitated,  and  said  he  didn't  know 
anything  about  the  game.  Of  course  we  offered  to  teach 
him,  as  we  had  often  done  to  the  other  correspondents. 
He  thanked  us,  and  added,  <  Anyhow,  the  ante  is  too 
high  for  me,  as  I'm  only  a  poor  wretch  of  a  newspaper 
man,  and  my  salary  is  small.' 

"  We  offered  to  make  the  ante  to  suit  him,  and  then, 
with  an  appearance  of  modesty,  he  answered  : 

" « If  you'll  make  it  ten  cents  I'll  venture  on  it.  But 
you  mustn't  press  me  hard,  as  I  haven't  but  thirty-four 
dollars  about  me.' 

"  With  this  understanding  he  sat  down  and  the  game 
went  on.  He  asked  a  good  many  questions,  and  we  al 
lowed  him  to  take  instruction  from  another  correspond 
ent,  who  was  sitting  there  and  not  in  the  performance. 
He  seemed  to  learn  quickly,  though  he  made  some  very 
natural  mistakes.  In  half  an  hour  or  so  he  said  he 
guessed  he  understood  it,  and  the  other  correspondent 
went  off  to  write  a  letter  to  his  paper. 


356  LOGAN    AND    HIS   FRIENDS. 

"  Somehow  that  fellow  got  on  famously,  and  almost 
every  time  it  come  to  a  bluff  or  a  raise  he  walked  away 
with  the  pot.  He  must  have  cleared  a  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  that  night,  and  possibly  two  hundred.  The  next 
evening  he  tried  it  again  and  with  better  luck  yet. 
Before  we  got  through  with  that  fellow  he  had  gone 
through  us,  Black  Jack  and  the  rest.  We  hadn't  money 
enough  for  daily  expenses,  and  had  to  borrow  of  that 
correspondent  to  pay  our  mess  bills. 

"Of  course,  we  don't  play  poker  now,  as  we're  all 
above  it.  That  correspondent  is  high  up  in  his  profession 
to-day ;  Logan  is  candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency, 
and  will  fill  the  place  well  if  he  gets  it,  but  I'll  bet  he 
hasn't  forgotten  that  game  with  the  newspaper  corre 
spondent  on  the  John  H.  Dickey" 

LOGAN   AND   THE   SOLDIERS. 

"  If  you  want  to  hear  an  old  soldier  yell  loud  enough 
to  be  heard  three  miles  away,  just  ask  him  how  '  Black 
Jack  Logan '  stands  in  with  the  '  vets,'  "  wrote  "  Jim- 
crax "  Hine,  a  Michigan  journalist  who  served  three 
years  in  the  war.  His  expression,  given  while  a  spec 
tator  of  the  wild  scenes  following  Logan's  nomination 
at  Chicago,  really  represents  the  feeling  of  old  soldiers 
towards  General  Logan. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Cogswell,  of  the  150th  New  York 
Regiment,  Twentieth  Army  Corps,  spoke  for  the  great 


LOGAN   AND    HIS   FRIENDS.  357 

mass  of  ex-soldiers  when  he  said,  at  a  Elaine  and  Logan 
ratification  meeting  at  Titusville,  Pennsylvania,  a  few 
days  after  the  Chicago  Convention :  — 

"  I  see  before  me  a  good  many  soldiers — bullet-stop 
pers  and  shell-arresters  from  1861  to  1865.  I  don't 
need  to  tell  them  anything  about  the  old  Black  Eagle 
of  Illinois,  who  commanded  the  15th  corps.  If  there  is 
a  man  in  my  hearing  who  wore  the  corps  badge,  the 
4 cartridge-box  and  forty  rounds,'  he  would  say,  'You 
can't  tell  me  anything  about  General  Logan  that  I  don't 
know  better  than  you ! '  .  .  .  Since  the  war,  nearly  all 
of  his  time  has  been  spent  in  Congress,  and  how  spent  ? 
To  know  how  a  goodly  part  of  it  has  been  spent,  ask 
the  man  who  has  an  empty  sleeve,  the  flesh,  bone,  and 
muscles  that  should  fill  it  being  buried  with  scores  of 
others  at  the  foot  of  some  amputating  table  in  one  of 
the  field  hospitals  of  Gettysburg  or  the  Wilderness! 
Ask  the  men  you  see  every  day  in  our  streets  who  try 
to  make  two  sticks  take  the  place  of  the  leg  lost  at 
Cold  Harbor  or  Fort  Hell !  Ask  the  widow  who  regu 
larly  receives  her  quarterly  allowance  from  the  most 
beneficent  government  the  world  ever  saw  in  its  treat 
ment  of  its  unfortunate  defenders.  Ask  the  soldier 
who,  by  the  mercy  of  God,  lived  through  Andersonville, 
and  still  has  his  reason  left.  Yes,  ask  any  of  those 
what  Logan  has  done  in  Congress,  and  they  will  all, 
with  one  accord,  invoke  the  blessings  of  Heaven  upon 

15 


358  LOGAN   AND   HIS   FRIENDS. 

John  A.  Logan  for  the  efforts  he  has  put  forth  and  is 
still  putting  forth  in  their  behalf.  Ask  the  millions  of 
colored  voters  at  the  South,  who,  remembering  the 
political  rights  accorded  to  them  by  the  Constitution 
and  laws,  cry  out  in  their  anguish,  'We  asked  of  you 
bread,  and  you  have  given  us  a  stone.'  '  You  promised 
us  the  ballot,  but  Danville  and  Hamburgh  reply  with 
the  bullet.'  They  remember  that  Logan's  voice  has 
failed  them  not  wherever  he  could  champion  their 
cause.  Have  I  answered  who  General  John  A.  Logan 
is  ?  Fit  comrade  for  our  Plumed  Knight,  our  Henry  of 
Navarre,  our  James  G.  Elaine !  Let  them  be  asso 
ciated.  The  statesman,  scholar,  and  the  soldier-states 
man,  Elaine  and  Logan ! " 

Logan  has  always  been  a  leader  in  securing  pension 
legislation;  he  was  one  of  the  most  urgent  advocates 
of  the  arrears  of  pension  bill,  and  he  has  never  failed 
at  a  meeting  of  Congress  to  present  a  bill  for  tho 
equalization  of  bounties.  He  now  has  a  measure  to 
pension  every  man  who  saw  active  service  in  the  war, 
and  veterans  who  vote  cannot  forget  how,  regardless  of 
time,  trouble,  and  expense,  he  has  corresponded  with 
them,  and  urged  their  cases  to  prompt  settlement ;  nor 
how  no  crippled  soldier,  or  soldier's  widow,  or  orphan 
has  ever  applied  to  him  for  help,  so  far  as  it  was  pos 
sible  for  him  to  help,  in  vain. 

General    Logan  is  a  prominent    figure   at  military 


LOGAN   AND    HIS   FRIENDS.  859 

reunions,  and  he  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  which  originated  at  Decatur, 
Illinois.  He  was  the  first  National  Commander  of  that 
organization,  and  as  such  issued  the  order,  in  1868,  for 
the  decoration  of  the  graves  of  Union  soldiers  the  30th 
of  May. 

LOGAN  AND  THE  SOUTHERN  SOLDIERS. 

It  is  a  fact  not  known  to  all,  that  some  of  the  hardest 
fighters  of  the  North  have  a  multitude  of  ardent  ad 
mirers  in  the  South,  and  Logan  is  one  of  them.  The 
following  account  of  his  kindness  to  a  Southern  soldier 
is  told  by  a  Mississippi  newspaper,  the  Natchez  Cru- 


During  the  dark  days  of  reconstruction,  we  think  it 
was  in  1868,  the  month  of  June,  three  gentlemen  sat  on 
the  porch  of  a  private  boarding-house  in  Michigan  avenue, 
Washington  city.  As  they  sat  together  in  low  and  earn 
est  conversation,  an  old  man  in  worn,  but  once  respect 
able  garments,  lame  and  hobbling  on  a  crutch,  paused 
directly  in  front  of  the  trio  and  glanced  searchingly  in 
the  faces  of  all  three.  There  was  an  expression  in  the 
upturned  countenance  of  the  old  man  too  readily  defined 
— a  look  of  weariness — an  air,  in  fact,  of  present  poverty, 
that  could  not  be  misunderstood  by  the  group. 

"  Can  I  do  anything  for  you,  my  man  ? "  asked  the 
senior  of  the  trio,  attentively  regarding  the  stationary 
figure  in  his  front. 


360  LOGAN   AND   HIS   FRIENDS. 

"  I  think,  not,  sir,"  was  the  quick  response. 

"  Where  did  you  get  that  lame  leg  ?"  inquired  the  first 
speaker. 

"  At  Chickamauga." 

"On  what  side?" 

"Your  side,  if  you  are  a  Southerner,"  rejoined  the  old 
man,  leaning  wearily  on  his  crutch. 

"  Not  mine,  friend,"  said  the  gentleman ;  "  I  belonged 
to  the  other  side." 

"  That  makes  a  big  difference,"  remarked  the  crippled 
stranger.  "  I  was  about  to  ask  you  for  a  favor,  but  you 
live  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  house." 

"What  can  I  do  for  you,  old  man?"  still  urged  the 
gentleman  with  quiet  gravity. 

"  Well,  I  may  as  well  tell  you  as  any  one  else.  I  am  a 
stranger  in  this  city,  and  trying  to  get  out  of  it.  I  have 
a  home  in  the  far  South,  and  enough  to  live  on  when  I 
get  there.  I  ran  out  of  money  in  Baltimore,  and  was 
brought  here  by  the  kindness  of  the  conductor  on  the 
train." 

"  Have  you  no  money  now  ?" 

"  I  expected  a  remittance  of  twenty -five  dollars  from 
home  when  I  reached  this  place — but  it  has  not  arrived." 

"  Well,  you  shall  not  go  home  on  your  crutches  if  I 
can  help  it,"  and  the  gentleman  produced  his  pocket-book 
and  counted  six  $5  bills  in  the  palm  of  the  stranger. 

"  It  is  too  much !  I  dislike  to  take  it !  "  exclaimed  the 
old  man,  grateful  and  astonished. 


LOGAN    AND    HIS    FRIENDS.  861 

u  Keep  it — you  are  welcome  to  it,"  persisted  the  gen 
tleman. 

"  I  thank  you — a  thousand  times  ! "  said  the  old  man. 
"  When  I  get  home  I  will  return  every  cent  of  it.  Your 
name — for  I  want  to  remember  it  and  honor  it  as  long 
as  I  live." 

"  Never  mind  that,  old  man.  If  you  have  enough,  as 
you  say,  to  live  on  in  your  far-away  Southern  home,  and 
if  you  should  ever  meet  in  that  home  a  boy  in  blue  in 
such  trouble  as  you  are  to-day,  just  hand  him  the  little 
amount  I  gave  you  now,  and  say  no  more  about  it." 

The  man  who  sent  one  of  our  own  dear  boys — a  poor 
Confederate — on  his  way  rejoicing,  was  General  John 
Alexander  Logan,  noted,  if  some  of  our  exchanges  are  to 
be  his  judges,  for  merciless  treatment  of  Southern 
soldiers ! 

LOGAN   AND    HIS    CONSTITUENTS. 

If  any  one  wishes  to  know  whether  Logan  is  liked  by 
his  constituents,  let  him  go  among  them  and  speak 
abusively  of  him.  The  frowns  he  will  receive  will  raise 
the  query  in  his  mind  as  to  whether  it  is  not  advisable 
to  hasten  from  the  soil  of  Illinois  to  escape  a  coat  of  tar 
and  feathers. 

The  visit  of  about  150  members  of  the  Illinois  Repub 
lican  Association  to  Logan  during  the  week  following  his 
nomination  at  Chicago,  and  his  reply  to  their  greeting, 
indicate  the  sincere  attachment  between  him  and  his 


362  LOGAN   AND   HIS   FRIENDS. 

constituents.     President  Deland  presented  the  members 
of  the  Association,  and  then  General  Logan  said : 

"  Mr.  President  and  ^Fellow-  Citizens  of  Illinois  :  I  wel 
come  you  heartily  and  tender  you  my  sincere  thanks  for 
the  expression  of  good-will  manifested  to-night  in  this 
voluntary  visit.  It  is  pleasant  at  all  times  to  meet  with 
one's  co-workers,  and  it  is  especially  so  to  meet  with 
those  with  whom  our  labors  have  been  most  immediately 
cast.  Born  and  reared  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  a  flood  of 
personal  and  agreeable  recollections  rushes  upon  me  as  I 
behold  your  familiar  faces.  Some  of  you  stood  with  me 
as  boys  upon  the  shore  of  life's  great  ocean,  panting  with 
eagerness  to  explore  the  inviting  but  untried  expanse 
before  you.  Some  of  you  were  side  by  side  with  me 
when  our  young  manhood,  full  of  vigor  and  latent  possi 
bilities,  began  the  struggle  with  forbidding  fortune,  and 
in  the  face  of  obstacles  which  magnified  and  ennobled 
your  subsequent  success.  With  some  of  you  1  have  re 
joiced  in  the  accomplishment  of  objects  for  which  we 
have  striven,  and  with  some  of  you  I  have  grieved  over 
the  non-fruition  of  your  best-grounded  hopes.  With  all 
of  you  I  have  been  closely  associatied  during  some  por 
tion  of  our  respective  careers,  and  can  dwell  with  grati 
fication  over  the  retrospect  of  our  personal  acquaintances 
— a  retrospect  which,  while  full  of  pleasure,  should  not 
fail  to  remind  us  that,  though  we  have  passed  the  heyday 
of  youth,  and  are  standing  under  the  more  subdued  light 


LOGAN   AND   HIS  FRIENDS.  363 

of  middle  age,  we  are  still  in  the  prime  of  usefulness,  and 
with  life's  mission  still  unfulfilled.  Some  of  you  that 
are  here  have  come  upon  the  field  of  labor  at  a  more 
recent  period,  but  are  no  less  my  friends  and  fellow- 
laborers.  To  one  and  all  of  you,  gentlemen,  I  desire  to 
manifest  my  deep  appreciation  of  the  spirit  which  prompts 
your  visit  at  this  time,  and  to  extend  the  hand  of  fellow 
ship  and  of  hearty  greeting  to  my  friends  of  Illinois  here 
assembled." 

He  has  been  indefatigable  in  the  promotion  of  the 
welfare  of  Illinois  while  in  Congress,  and  his  constituents 
appreciate  the  service  he  has  rendered. 

LOGAN  AND  THE  LABORING  MAN. 

Like  his  father,  Senator  Logan  is  characterized  by 
sympathy  for  the  common  people,  and  the  poor  man  is  as 
welcome  at  his  door  as  he  who  comes  "  clad  in  purple 
and  fine  linen,"  and  his  cause  is  held  even  more  sacred. 

Irish  blood  is  in  his  veins,  and  his  efforts  to  redress 
wrong  done  to  that  race  gives  him  the  grateful  regard  of 
Irishmen.  No  man  stands  better  with  the  working 
classes  than  he.  Says  the  St.  Louis  Mining  News: 
"  Senator  Logan  expended  $50,000  in  trying  to  develop 
coal  in  Illinois.  Though  the  venture  was  unsuccessful, 
the  Senator  did  not  mourn  the  loss  of  the  money,  because 
the  mining  people  got  it.  He  is  the  advocate  of  laws 
for  the  protection  of  the  lives  of  miners  while  under- 


ol.U  1.00  AN    AND    III>    FRIEND. 

ground  ;  and  lie  would  receive  the  minor's  vote,  which  is 
a  big  thing  in  this  country."  Says  ihe  Springfield  Mon 
itor,  of  his  own  State  :  "  To  sec  John  A.  Logan  (at 
Carbondalc)  with  a  wide-brimmed  straw  hat,  blue  woolen 
shirt,  and  butternut  pants  on,  astride  of  his  favorite 
*  Dolly,'  going-  backward  and  forward  to  his  wheat-fields, 
and  while  there  taking  a  hand  'shocking'  after  his 
twine-binders,  is  a  sight  which  every  constituency  of 
Senators  is  not  permitted  to  witness.  After  a  hard  day's 
work  in  the  field  with  the  boys,  he  lies  on  the  grass  with 
them  in  the  evening,  while  lemonade  is  freely  passed 
around,  and  all  hands  join  in  discussing  the  news  of  the 
day.  This  is  John  A.  Logan  at  home  ;  and  yet  some 
people  wonder  why  it  is  that  he  has  such  a  hold  on  the 
*boys."  A  farmer  himself,  he  knows  what  legislation  the 
farmers  need,  and  docs  his  best  to  secure  it  for  them, 
whether  through  protection  or  otherwise.  Says  another 
Illinois  newspaper,  the  Jonesboro  Gazette  :  "  He  is  in 
favor  of  improving  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  Rivers,  and 
making  them  the  great  thoroughfares  by  which  our  grain 
can  be  sent  to  the  European  markets.  lie  also  favors  a 
ship  canal  from  Chicago  to  the  Mississippi  River."  In 
consequence  of  his  attitude  on  these  questions  he  is  very 
popular  throughout  the  Mississippi  Valley  States.  That 
he  is  the  friend  of  the  colored  man  is  to  be  learned 
almost  everywhere  in  his  speeches  and  votes  from  that 
July  day  in  1865,  when,  at  the  court-house  of  Louisville, 


LOO  AN    AND    JUS    FRIKNDB. 

he  made  an  impassioned  plea  for  the  emancipation  of  Hie 
Blave0  :md  Hie  consent  of  Kentucky  to  the  constitutional 
amendment  prohibiting  slavery  and  involuntary  servitude, 
down  to  the  present  time. 

LOGAN'S  RELATIONS  TO  BLAIXK. 

"  I  most  heartily  congratulate  you  on  your  nomination. 
You  will  be  elided.  Your  friend." 

Such  was  the  dispatch  sent  by  John  A.  Logan  to  James 
(>.  lilainc,  when  the  nomination  of  the  latter  for  the 
<lency  was  made  on  Friday,  June  6,  1884.  It  has 
been  said  that  Elaine  owes  his  nomination  to  Logan, and 
it  is  certain  that  Logan  told  his  friends  in  the  convention 
be  wished  that  if  at  any  time  it  should  appear  that  Mr. 
niaine  could  be  nominated  by  them,  that  his  supporters 
should  so  vote. 

A  perfect  understanding  existed  between  the  two  men, 
and  the  intimacy  of  their  relations  is  indicated  by  tho 
early  appearance  of  Senator  Logan  at  the  Blaine  liome- 
i  in  Augusta  after  the  Chicago  Convention.  "\Vhen 
the  "Flying  Yankee"  rolled  from  Portland  toward  Hie 
Kennebec,  on  Monday,  June  6,  1884,  it  was  known  to 
few  that  Senator  Logan,  accompanied  by  Senator  Hale 
and  others,  was  on  board,  but  he  was  expected  at 
Augusta,  and  warmly  welcomed  by  the  people  as  well  as 
by  Ilie  Hlaine  household. 

In  the  evening  a  crowd  gathered  about  the  Blaine 
15* 


866  LOGAN   AND   HIS   FRIENDS 

mansion,  and,  introduced  by  Governor  Connor  as  "  him 
of  the  eagle  eye  and  lion  heart,"  Logan  spoke  as  follows : 

"  Ladies,  gentlemen,  and  comrades :  I  most  fully  ap 
preciate  this  kind  compliment  to-night.  I  am  truly  glad 
to  meet  so  many  citizens  of  Augusta.  I  left  the  city  of 
Washington  yesterday  with  our  friend  Senator  Hale  of 
this  State,  to  make  a  little  visit  to  his  'house  and  tarry 
over  night  with  one  of  the  great  citizens  of  the  United 
States. 

"  I  must  confess  that  I  feel  embarrassed  in  attempting 
to  say  anything  after  listening  to  what  has  been  said  by 
Governor  Connor.  It  is  true  that  soldiers  of  Maine  in 
the  same  great  contest  stood  side  by  side  with  those  from 
all  other  parts  of  the  country,  and  did  their  duty  for  the 
preservation  of  this  great  nation.  It  was  preserved  by 
their  energy,  their  patriotism  and  prowess.  Behind 
them  stood  loyal  citizens  of  this  great  Republic,  giving 
them  their  support  and  prayers,  with  their  hearts  full  of 
hope  for  their  success,  and,  as  liberty  first  found  birth  on 
the  Atlantic  slope,  well  may  it  there  have  found  true 
hearts  for  the  preservation,  not  only  of  this  country,  but 
that  liberty  which  God  intended  for  all  men.  Let  that 
which  followed  as  the  result,  its  preservation,  not  now  be 
lost.  This  can  only  be  done  by  keeping  the  control  of  the 
institutions  of  this  country  in  the  hands  of  those  who 
sought  to  maintain  them.  This  people  believed  in  the 
fundamental  principles  of  republican  government,  which 


LOGAN   AND    HIS   FRIENDS.  867 

is  that  the  will  of  tho  people  shall  control.  The  same 
rule  also  applies  in  their  selection  of  agents  for  adminis 
tration  of  the  government.  The  voice  of  the  great 
majority  of  republicans  of  this  mighty  nation  has  chosen 
as  the  standard-bearer  of  that  great  party  in  the  coming 
contest  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States,  your 
fellow-citizen,  James  G.  Elaine,  and  you  need  have  no 
fear  as  to  the  result.  This  contest  will  be  a  glorious 
victory,  full  and  complete.  Illinois  in  1860  gave  to  this 
country  the  first  republican  President.  Maine  was  then 
associated  with  Illinois.  In  1884  Maine  will  give  as 
gallant  a  President  to  this  Republic  as  has  been  elected 
by  this  people. 

"Citizens  of  Maine:  I  feel  honored  and  complimented 
by  being  associated  on  a  ticket  with  a  man  worthy  of  tho 
confidence  of  the  people,  and  in  every  way  capable  of 
filling  the  high  office  of  President  with  honor  to  himself 
and  to  the  country.  I  thank  you,  and  bid  you  good 
night." 

The  journey  of  Elaine  and  Logan  through  Maine 
together  awakened  great  enthusiasm  among  the  people, 
and  in  a  speech  delivered  after  his  return  to  Washington, 
when  serenaded  on  June  21st,  Senator  Logan  said: 

"  The  standard-bearer  of  the  party  in  the  ensuing  cam 
paign  is  the  Hon.  James  G.  Elaine,  known  throughout 
the  land  as  one  of  its  truest  and  ablest  representatives. 
He  has  been  called  to  this  position  by  the  voice  of  tho 


368  LOGAN   AND    HIS    FRIENDS. 

people,  in  recognition  of  his  especial  fitness  for  the  trust, 
and  in  admiration  of  the  surprising  combination  of 
brilliancy,  courage,  faithfulness,  persistency,  and  research 
that  has  made  him  one  of  the  most  remarkable  figures 
which  has  appeared  upon  the  forum  of  state-craft  in  any 
period  of  this  country ;  that  such  a  man  should  have 
enemies  and  detractors  is  as  natural  as  that  our  best 
fruits  should  be  infested  with  parasites  or  that  there 
should  exist  small  and  envious  minds  which  seek  to 
belittle  that  which  they  can  never  hope  to  imitate  or 
equal,  and  that  he  shall  triumph  over  these  and  lead  the 
Republican  hearts  to  another  victory  in  November  is  as 
certain  as  the  succession  of  the  seasons  or  the  rolling  of 
the  spheres  in  their  courses.  Gentlemen,  again  I  thank 
you  for  this  visit  of  congratulation,  and  extend  to  you, 
one  and  all,  my  grateful  acknowledgments." 

Chairman  Henderson  and  the  members  of  the  com 
mittee  charged  with  the  duty  of  notifying  the  candidates 
of  their  nomination,  met  at  Washington  on  June  24th, 
and  formally  notified  General  Logan  of  his  nomination 
for  Vice-President. 

LOGAN'S  REPLY. 

"  Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Committee  : — 
I  receive  you  visit  with  pleasure,  and  accept  with 
gratitude  the  sentiments  you  have  so  generously  ex 
pressed  in  the  discharge  of  the  duty  with  which  you 


LOGAN    AND    HIS   FRIENDS.  389 

have  been  intrusted  by  tine  National  Republican  Conven 
tion.  Intending  to  address  you  a  formal  communication 
shortly,  in  accordance  with  the  recognized  usage,  it 
would  be  out  of  place  to  detain  you  at  this  time  with 
remarks  which  properly  belong  to  the  official  utterances 
of  a  letter  of  acceptance.  I  may  be  permitted  to  say, 
however,  that  though  I  did  not  seek  the  nomination  of 
Yice-President,  I  accept  it  as  a  trust  reposed  in  me  by 
the  Republican  party,  to  the  advancement  of  whose  broad 
policy,  upon  all  questions  connected  with  the  progress  of 
our  government  and  our  people,  I  have  dedicated  my 
best  energies,  and  with  this  acceptance  I  may  properly 
signify  my  approval  of  the  platform  of  principles  adopted 
by  the  convention.  I  am  deeply  sensible  of  the  honor 
conferred  upon  me  by  my  friends  in  so  unanimously  ten 
dering  me  this  nomination,  and  I  sincerely  thank  them 
for  this  tribute.  I  am  not  unmindful  of  the  great 
responsibilities  attaching  to  the  office,  and  if  elected  I 
shall  enter  upon  the  performance  of  its  duties  with  the 
firm  conviction  that  he  who  has  such  a  unanimous  sup 
port  of  his  party  friends  as  the  circumstances  connected 
with  the  nomination  and  your  own  words,  Mr.  Chairman, 
indicate,  and  consequently  such  a  wealth  of  counsel  to 
draw  upon,  cannot  fall  in  the  proper  discharge  of  the 
duties  committed  to  him.  I  tender  you  my  thanks,  Mr. 
Chairman,  for  the  kind  expressions  you  have  made,  and 
I  offer  you  and  your  fellow  committeemen  my  most 
cordial  greeting." 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 


THE   CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 
AND  ITS  HISTORY. 

Preliminaries  to  the  Struggle  for  Independence. — The  Convention 
of  1765.— Articles  of  Confederation.— The  "Declaration  of  Rights" 
and  other  Papers. — The  Continental  Congress. — Work  of  the  Com 
mittee  of  Five. — The  Beginning  of  the  War. — Minute-men. — Wash 
ington's  Statesmanship. — Formation  of  the  Constitution. — Opposi 
tion  to  its  Adoption.— The  Bulwark  of  the  Republic.— Text  of  the 
Constitution. — Views  of  the  Statesmen  Concerning  it. — Amendments 
and  Their  History. — How  the  Amendments  were  Ratified. 

In  the  middle  of  the  last  century  the  acts  of  oppression 
on  the  part  of  Great  Britain  towards  the  American 
colonies  became  so  numerous  as  to  excite  general  indig 
nation.  Public  meetings  were  held  to  denounce  the 
conduct  of  the  mother  country,  organizations  of  "  Sons 
of  Liberty"  were  formed  throughout  the  colonies,  the 
popular  sentiment  was  displayed  in  various  ways,  and 
when  on  the  first  of  November,  1765,  the  odious  Stamp 
Act  was  to  take  effect  there  were  no  officials  bold  enough 
to  execute  the  laws.  The  stamps  were  seized  and  burned 

(370) 


CONSTITUTION   OP  THE   UNITED  STATES.  871 

on  their  arrival,  the  distributors  were  openly  insulted, 
and  it  was  determined  to  celebrate  the  first  of  November 
as  a  day  of  Humiliation. 

There  was  a  general  desire  for  united  action  among 
the  colonies,  and  a  convention  or  congress  was  proposed. 
Several  colonies  appointed  delegates  who  met  in  New 
York  on  the  7th  of  October,  1765,  and  remained  in 
session  fourteen  days.  Their  deliberations  resulted  in 
three  ably-written  documents  in  which  were  set  forth 
the  grievances  of  the  colonists  and  the  rights  they 
claimed,  together  with  a  petition  that  the  king  and 
parliament  would  redress  the  former  and  acknowledge 
the  latter.  The  first  paper  was  A  Declaration  of  Rights 
prepared  by  John  Cruger  of  New  York,  the  second  A 
Memorial  to  Both  Houses  of  Parliament  by  Robert  R. 
Livingston  of  New  York,  and  the  third  and  last  was 
A  Petition  to  the  King  by  James  Otis  of  Massachusetts. 

The  government  of  Great  Britain  refused  all  applica 
tion  for  a  redress  of  the  grievances  of  the  colonies. 
Troops  were  sent  to  awe  the  people  into  subjection,  and 
not  only  were  the  odious  laws  enforced,  but  additional 
ones  were  enacted.  The  assemblies  of  New  York  and 
Massachusetts  refused  shelter  and  food  for  the  troops 
that  were  quartered  upon  them,  and  this  led  to  open 
collisions ;  then  followed  many  acts  of  insubordination, 
prominent  among  them  being  the  famous  "  Boston  Tea- 
Party  ",  and  the  consequent  closing  of  the  port  when  the 
act  occurred. 


372  CONSTITUTION   OP  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

Another  Congress  was  summoned  and  met  in  Phila 
delphia  on  the  5th  of  September,  1774.  It  was  known 
as  the  FIRST  CONTINENTAL  CONGRESS,  and  included  dele 
gates  from  all  the  colonies  except  Georgia.  Again  were 
the  grievances  of  the  people  set  forth,  and  with  the 
same  result  as  before.  The  Congress  adjourned  to  meet 
on  the  10th  of  the  following  May,  and  there  was  a 
universal  feeling  that  if  Great  Britain  continued  stubborn 
war  would  be  inevitable. 

Before  Congress  met  again,  pursuant  to  adjournment, 
it  became  known  that  the  requests  of  the  colonists  had 
been  refused,  and  preparations  were  made  for  the 
impending  hostilities.  Military  companies  and  regi 
ments  were  organized,  men  were  drilled  in  exercises 
with  weapons  of  war ;  the  manufacture  of  arms,  ammu 
nition,  and  military  equipments  was  encouraged,  and 
especially  in  the  New  England  States  the  citizens  were 
enrolled  in  companies  prepared  to  go  to  the  field  at  a 
moment's  warning.  For  this  reason  they  were  known 
as  minute-men ;  their  organization  was  encouraged  by 
their  wives  and  daughters,  who  assisted  in  the  prepara 
tions.  It  was  said  that  in  Massachusetts  alone  thirty 
thousand  men  were  ready  to  go  to  the  field  whenever 
wanted. 

The  war  came  with  all  its  horrors.  The  far-seeing 
leaders  recognized  the  necessity  of  a  unity  of  action 
among  the  colonies,"  and  for  this  purpose  "Articles  of 
Confederation"  were  prepared;  the  outline  of  these 


CONSTITUTION   OP  THE   UNITED   STATES.  373 

articles  was  submitted  to  the  Continental  Congress  in 
July,  1775,  by  Dr.  Franklin,  with  the  suggestion  that 
they  should  cease  to  be  in  force  as  soon  as  there  was  a 
reconciliation  between  Great  Britain  and  the  colonies, 
but  in  the  failure  of  such  reconciliation  their  action 
should  be  perpetual. 

No  decisive  action  was  taken  until  the  following  year, 
when  a  declaration  of  independence  became  necessary. 

On  the  llth  of  June,  1776nCongress  resolved  that  a 
committee  should  be  appointed,  to  consist  of  one  dele 
gate  from  each  state,  to  draft  and  digest  articles  of 
confederation  by  which  all  the  colonies  should  be  bound 
and  controlled  during  the  period  of  war.  A  draft  was 
reported  on  the  12th  of  July  of  the  same  year. 

The  articles  of  confederation  were  discussed  for  a 
month  or  more,  and  were  then  laid  aside  until  April, 
1777.  In  the  meantime  several  of  the  states  had  formed 
their  constitutions  and  practically  acknowledged  Con 
gress  to  be  the  supreme  head  of  affairs  in  war,  finance, 
etc.  From  April  until  November  the  articles  were 
discussed,  and  on  the  15th  of  the  latter  month  they 
were  adopted  and  submitted  to  the  States  for  ratification. 
Some  of  the  State  legislatures  made  objections,  and  the 
final  adoption  did  not  take  place  until  four  years  and 
four  months  after  the  draft  had  been  submitted.  These 
articles  of  confederation  formed  tUe  basis  of  the  CON 
STITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  and  remained  in  force 
until  after  the  end  of  the  Revolution,  the  signing  of  the 


374  CONSTITUTION   OP  THE  UNITED   STATES. 

treaty  of  peace,  and  the  evacuation  of  the  country  by 
the  British  army. 

It  was  proposed  by  some  of  the  statesmen  of  that  time 
that  the  articles  of  confederation  should  he  continued, 
and  form  the  constitution  of  the  nation.  This  was  op 
posed  on  account  of  several  glaring  defects  that  had  be 
come  manifest  during  the  progress  of  the  war.  General 
Washington  was  one  the  first  to  see  the  necessity  of  a 
new  organization,  and  at  his  suggestion  a  convention  was 
called  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  on  the  best  means  of 
remedying  the  evil  then  existing.  This  convention  as 
sembled  at  Annapolis,  Maryland,  in  September,  1788, 
but  only  five  States,  Virginia,  Delaware,  Pennsylvania, 
New  Jersey,  and  New  York,  had  sent  delegates.  Owing 
to  the  small  representation  no  action  was  taken  beyond 
suggesting  the  appointment  of  delegates  to  a  larger  con 
vention  in  the  following  year. 

The  report  was  sent  to  Congress,  and  in  February  1787, 
that  body  passed  a  resolution  recommending  the  legis 
latures  to  appoint  delegates  to  a  constitutional  conven 
tion  which  should  meet  on  the  second  Monday  in  May  of 
that  year.  The  proposal  met  with  favor,  and  at  the  time 
designated  the  convention  assembled,  all  the  States  being 
represented  except  New  Hampshire  and  Rhode  Island. 
Various  plans  were  proposed,  and  after  long  and  some 
times  angry  debates  the  convention  referred  all  reports, 
propositions,  and  resolutions  to  a  committee  of  five.  Ten 


CONSTITUTION   OP  TEE   UNITED   STATES.  375 

days  later  this  committee  reported  a  rough  draft  of  the 
instrument  by  which  the  country  should  be  governed  for 
the  future. 

More  debates  followed,  and  then  the  draft  of  the  Con 
stitution  was  referred  to  the  various  legislatures  with  the 
request  that  it  be  submitted  to  a  convention  of  delegates 
from  all  the  States.  It  was  vigorously  supported  by 
many  of  the  great  minds  of  the  day,  and  as  vigorously 
opposed  by  others.  Eleven  States  assembled  in  conven 
tion,  and  supported  and  ratified  the  new  Constitution ; 
Congress  then  fixed  the  time  for  choosing  electors  for 
President  and  Vice-President,  and  provided  for  the  or 
ganization  of  the  new  government.  The  old  CONTINEN 
TAL  CONGRESS  expired  on  the  fourth  of  March,  1789,  and 
the  National  Constitution  became  the  basis  on  which 
should  rest  the  great  Republic  of  the  Western  World. 

Thus  was  crowned  the  glorious  work  of  the  War  for 
Independence,  and  thus  was  begun  the  magnificent  career 
of  one  of  the  foremost  nations  of  the  globe. 

THE   NATIONAL    CONSTITUTION. 

We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more 
perfect  Union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquility,  pro 
vide  for  the  common  defence,  promote  the  general  welfare,  and 
secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do 
ordain  and  establish  this  CONSTITUTION  for  the  United  States  of 
America. 

ARTICLE    I. 

SECTION  1.  All  the  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be 
vested  in  a  Congress  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist  of 
a  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 


876  CONSTITUTION   OF  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

SEC.  2.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  be  composed  of 
members  chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several 
States,  and  the  electors  in  each  State  shall  have  the  qualifications 
requisite  for  electors  of  the  most  numerous  branch  of  the  State 
Legislature. 

No  person  shall  be  a  Representative  who  shall  not  have  attained 
the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven  years  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant 
of  that  State  in  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among  the 
several  States  which  may  be  included  within  this  Union,  according 
to  their  respective  numbers,  which  shall  be  determined  by  adding 
to  the  whole  number  of  free  persons,  including  those  bound  to  ser 
vice  for  a  term  of  years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths 
of  all  other  persons.  The  actual  enumeration  shall  be  made  within 
three  years  after  the  first  meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  and  within  every  subsequent  term  of  ten  years,  in  such 
manner  as  they  shall  by  law  direct.  The  number  of  Representatives 
shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty  thousand;  but  each  State 
shall  have  at  least  one  Representative ;  and  until  such  enumeration 
shall  be  made,  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  shall  be  entitled  to 
choose  three,  Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode  Island  and  Providence 
Plantations  one,  Connecticut  five,  New  York  six,  New  Jersey  four, 
Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware  one,  Maryland  six,  Virginia  ten, 
North  Carolina  five,  South  Carolina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 

When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any  State, 
the  executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to  fill 
such  vacancies. 

The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  Speaker  and 
other  officers ;  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment. 

SEC.  3.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of 
two  Senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the  legislature  thereof,  for 
six  years ;  and  each  Senator  shall  have  one  vote. 

Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  consequence  of  the 
first  election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be  into  three 
classes.  The  seats  of  the  Senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  va 
cated  at  the  expiration  of  the  second  year,  of  the  second  class  at 


CONSTITUTION   OP   THE   UNITED   STATES,  377 

the  expiration  of  the  fourth  year,  and  of  the  third  class  at  the  ex 
piration  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one-third  may  be  chosen  every 
second  year ;  and  if  vacancies  happen  by  resignation  or  otherwise, 
during  the  recess  of  the  legislature  of  any  State,  the  executive 
thereof  may  make  temporary  appointments  until  the  next  meeting 
of  the  legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies. 

No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the 
age  of  thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  for  that 
State  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be  President  of 
the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a  president 
pro  ternpore,  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President,  or  when  he  shall 
exercise  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeachments : 
when  sitting  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  be  on  oath,  or  affirma 
tion.  When  the  President  of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the  Chief 
Justice  shall  preside ;  and  no  person  shall  be  convicted  without  the 
concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 

Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend  further  than 
to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy  any 
office  of. honor,  trust  or  profit  under  the  United  States:  but  the 
party  convicted  shall  nevertheless  be  liable  and  subject  to  indict 
ment,  trial,  judgment,  and  punishment,  according  to  law. 

SEC.  4.  The  times,  places,  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for 
Senators  and  Representatives,  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  State  by 
the  legislature  thereof ;  but  the  Congress  may  at  any  time  by  law 
make  or  alter  such  regulations,  except  as  to  the  places  of  choosing 
Senators. 

The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year,  and  such 
meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless  they 
shall  by  law  appoint  a  different  day. 

SEC.  5.  Each  house  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,  returns, 
and  qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  a  majority  of  each  shall 
constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business ;  but  a  smaller  number  may  ad 
journ  from  day  to  day,  and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  at- 


378  CONSTITUTION   OP  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

tendance  of  absent  members,  in  such  manner  and  under  such 
penalties  as  each  house  may  provide. 

Each  house  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings,  punish 
its  members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the  concurrence  of 
two-thirds,  expel  a  member. 

Each  house  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and  from 
time  to  tune  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may  in  their 
judgment  require  secresy ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members 
of  either  house  on  any  question  shall,  at  the  desire  of  one-fifth  of 
those  present,  be  entered  on  the  journal. 

Neither  house,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall,  without 
the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor 
to  any  other  place  than  that  in  which  the  two  houses  may  be 
sittting. 

SEC.  6.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall  receive  a  com 
pensation  for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law,  and  paid  out 
of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States.  They  shall  in  all  cases,  ex 
cept  treason,  felony,  and  breach  of  the  peace,  be  privileged  from 
arrest  during  their  attendance  at  the  session  of  their  respective 
houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the  same ;  and  for  any 
speech  or  debate  in  either  house,  they  shall  not  be  questioned  in 
any  other  place. 

No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  time  for  which 
he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the  authority 
of  the  United  States,  which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  emolu 
ments  whereof  shall  have  been  increased  during  such  time ;  and  no 
person  holding  any  office  under  the  United  States  shall  be  a  mem 
ber  of  either  house  during  his  continuance  in  office. 

SEC.  7.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the  House 
of  Representatives ;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  concur  with 
amendments  as  on  other  bills. 

Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of  Representatives 
and  the  Senate,  shall,  before  it  becomes  a  law,  be  presented  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States :  if  he  approve  he  shall  sign  it,  but 
if  not,  he  shall  return  it,  with  his  objections,  to  that  house  in 
which  it  shall  have  originated,  which  shall  enter  the  objections  at 
large  on  their  journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If,  after  such 


CONSTITUTION   OF  THE   UNITED  STATES.  379 

reconsideration,  two-thirds  of  that  house  shall  agree  to  pass  the 
bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the  other 
house,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved 
by  two-thirds  of  that  house,  it  shall  become  a  law.  But  in  all  such 
cases  the  votes  of  both  houses  shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and 
nays,  and  the  names  of  the  persons  voting  for  and  against  the  bill 
shall  be  entered  on  the  journal  of  each  house  respectively.  If  any 
bill  shall  not  be  returned  by  the  President  within  ten  days  (Sunday 
excepted)  after  it  shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall 
be  a  law,  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it.  unless  the  Congress 
by  their  adjournment  prevent  its  return,  in  which  case  it  shall  not 
be  a  law. 

Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote  to  which  the  concurrence  of  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  may  be.  necessary  (except  on 
a  question  of  adjournment),  shall  be  presented  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States;  and  before  the  same  shall  take  effect,  shall  be 
approved  by  him,  or  being  disapproved  by  him,  shall  be  repassed 
by  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  accord 
ing  to  the  rules  and  limitations  prescribed  in  the  case  of  a  bill. 

Ssc.  8.     The  Congress  shall  have  power — 

To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises ;  to  pay  the 
debts  aiid  provide  for  the  common  defense  and  general  welfare  of 
the  United  States;  but  all  duties,  imposts,  and  excises  shall  be 
uniform  throughout  the  United  States ; 

To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States; 

To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the  sev 
eral  States,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes ; 

To  establish  an  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uniform  laws 
on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies  throughout  the  United  States ; 

To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign  coin, 
and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures ; 

To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securities 
and  current  coin  of  the  United  States ; 

To  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads ; 

To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts,  by  securing 
for  limited  times  to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive  right  to 
their  respective  writings  and  discoveries ; 


380  CONSTITUTION   OF  THE  UNITED   STATES. 

To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court ; 

To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the  high 
seas,  and  offenses  against  the  law  of  nations ; 

To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and  make 
rules  concerning  captures  on  land  and  water; 

To  raise  and  support  armies ;  but  no  appropriation  of  money  to 
that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years ; 

To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy ; 

To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the  land  and 
naval  forces; 

To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws  of 
the  Union,  suppress  insurrection,  and  repel  invasions ; 

To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining  the  militia, 
and  for  governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States — reserving  to  the  States,  respectively, 
the  appointment  of  the  officers,  and  the  authority  of  training  the 
militia  according  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by  Congress ; 

To  exercise  exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatsoever  over  such 
district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may,  by  cession  of  par 
ticular  States,  and  the  acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the  seat  of 
the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  to  exercise  like  authority 
over  all  places  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  the 
State  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the  erection  of  forts,  maga 
zines,  arsenals,  dockyards,  and  other  needful  buildings ; — and 

To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for  carry 
ing  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  powers 
vested  by  this  Constitution  in  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
or  in  any  department  or  officer  thereof. 

SEC.  9.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of 
the  States  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be 
prohibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  eight,  but  a  tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  im 
portation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  person. 

The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  suspended, 
unless  when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the  public  safety  may 
require  it. 

No  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  post  facto  shall  be  passed. 


CONSTITUTION   OF  THE   UNITED   STATES.  381 

No  capitation,  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  pro 
portion  to  the  census  or  enumeration  herein  before  directed  to  be 
taken.  * 

No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any  State. 

No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  commerce  or 
revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  State  over  those  of  another ;  nor  shall 
vessels  bound  to,  or  from,  one  State,  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or 
pay  duties  in  another. 

No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  but  in  consequence 
of  appropriations  made  by  law ;  and  a  regular  statement  and  account 
of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  all  public  money  shall  be  pub 
lished  from  time  to  time. 

No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States :  and 
no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them,  shall, 
without  the  consent  of  Congress,  accept  of  any  present,  emolu 
ment,  office,  or  title,  of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  king,  prince, 
or  foreign  state. 

SEC.  10.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  con 
federation  ;  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal ;  coin  money ;  emit 
bills  of  credit;  make  anything  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in 
payment  of  debts ;  pass  any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto  law,  or 
law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts,  or  grant  any  title  of 
nobility. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any  im 
posts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be  abso 
lutely  necessary  for  executing  its  inspection  laws:  and  the  net 
produce  of  all  duties  and  imposts,  laid  by  any  State  on  imports  or 
exports,  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States; 
and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and  control  of  the 
Congress. 

No  State  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any  duty  of 
tonnage,  keep  troops,  or  ships-of-war  in  time  of  peace,  enter  into 
any  agreement  or  compact  with  another  State,  or  with  a  foreign 
power,  or  engage  in  war,  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such  emi 
nent  danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay. 


382  CONSTITUTION    OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

ARTICLE   II. 

SECTION  1.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President 
of  the  United  States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  office  during 
the  term  of  four  years,  and  together  with  the  Vice-President,  chosen 
for  the  same  term,  be  elected  as  follows : 

Each  State  shall  appoint  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature  there 
of  may  direct,  a  number  of  electors,  equal  to  the  whole  number  of 
Senators  and  Representatives  to  which  the  State  may  be  entitled 
in  the  Congress :  but  no  Senator  or  Representative,  or  person  hold 
ing  an  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  United  States,  shall  be 
appointed  an  elector. 

[The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote  by 
ballot  for  two  persons,  of  whom  one  at  least  shall  not  be  an  inhab 
itant  of  the  same  State  with  themselves.  And  they  shall  make  a 
list  of  all  the  persons  voted  for,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for 
each ;  which  list  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to 
the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the 
President  of  the  Senate.  The  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in 
the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all 
the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted.  The  person 
having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  shall  be  the  President,  if  such 
number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed; 
and  if  there  be  more  than  one  who  have  such  majority,  and  have 
an  equal  number  of  votes,  then  the  House  of  Representatives  shall 
immediately  choose  by  ballot  one  of  them  for  President ;  and  if  no 
person  have  a  majority,  then  from  the  five  highest  on  the  list  the 
said  house  shall  in  like  manner  choose  the  President.  But  in 
choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  States — the 
representation  from  each  State  having  one  vote ;  a  quorum  for  this 
purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two-thirds  of 
the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be  necessary  to  a 
choice.  In  every  case,  after  the  choice  of  the  President,  the  per 
son  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  of  the  electors  shall  be 
the  Vice-President.  But  if  there  should  remain  two  or  more  who 
have  equal  votes,  the  Senate  shall  choose  from  them  by  ballot  the 
Vice-President.] 

The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the  electors, 


CONSTITUTION   OF  THE  UNITED   STATES.  883 

and  the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes ;  which  day  shall 
be  the  same  throughout  the  United  States. 

No  person  except  a  natural  born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  constitution,  shall 
be  eligible  to  the  office  of  President ;  neither  shall  any  person  be 
eligible  to  that  office  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age  of 
thirty-five  years,  and  been  fourteen  years  a  resident  within  the 
United  States. 

In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of  his 
death,  resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties 
of  the  said  office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice-President,  and 
the  Congress  may  by  law  provide  for  the  case  of  removal,  death, 
resignation  or  inability,  both  of  the  President  and  Vice-President, 
declaring  what  officer  shall  then  act  as  President,  and  such  officer 
shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  disability  be  removed,  or  a  Presi 
dent  shall  be  elected. 

The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services,  a 
compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished 
during  the  period  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  and  he 
shall  not  receive  within  that  period  any  other  emolument  from  the 
United  States,  or  any  of  them. 

Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall  take  the 
following  oath  of  affirmation : 

"I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute 
the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will  to  the  best 
of  my  ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States." 

SEC.  2.  The  President  shall  be  commander  in  chief  of  the 
Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  Militia  of  the 
several  States,  when  called  into  the  actual  service  of  the  United 
States;  he  may  require  the  opinion,  in  writing,  of  the  principal 
officer  in  each  of  the  executive  departments,  upon  any  subject 
relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices,  and  he  shall  have 
power  to  grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for  offences  against  the 
United  States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

He  shall  have  power  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
Senate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two-thirds  of  the  Senators 


384  CONSTITUTION    OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

present  concur;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and  by  and  with  the  advice 
and  consent  of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint  Ambassadors,  other  public 
Ministers  and  Consuls,  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  all  other 
officers  of  the  United  States,  whose  appointments  are  not  herein 
hitherto  provided  for,  and  which  shall  be  established  by  law;  but 
the  Congress  may  by  law  vest  the  appointment  of  such  inferior 
officers,  as  they  think  proper,  in  the  President  alone,  in  the  courts 
of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of  departments. 

The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacancies  that  may 
happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  Commissions 
which  shall  expire  at  the  end  of  their  next  session. 

SEC.  3.  lie  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  congress  infor 
mation  of  the  state  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their  consid 
eration  such  measures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient ; 
he  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions,  convene  both  Houses,  or  either 
.of  them,  and  in  case  of  disagreement  between  them,  with  respect 
to  the  time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to  such  time  as 
he  shall  think  proper;  he  shall  receive  Ambassadors  and  other  pub 
lic  Ministers ;  he  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed, 
and  shall  commission  all  the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

SEC.  4.  The  President,  Vice-President,  and  all  civil  officers  of 
the  United  States,  shall  be  removed  from  office  on  impeachment 
for,  and  conviction  of,  treason,  bribery,  or  other  high  crimes  or 
misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE     III. 

SECTION  1.  The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  be 
vested  in  one  Supreme  Court,  and  such  inferior  courts  as  the  Con 
gress  may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establish.  The  Judges 
both  of  the  Supreme  and  inferior  courts  shall  hold  their  offices 
during  good  behavior,  and  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  their 
services  a  compensation  which  shall  not  be  diminished  during  their 
continuance  in  office.  • 

SEC.  2.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases,  in  law  and 
equity,  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the  laws  of  the  United 
States,  and  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  their 
authority ;  to  all  cases  affecting  Ambassadors,  other  public  Ministers 
and  Consuls;  to  all  cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  Jurisdiction; 


CONSTITUTION    OF   THE   UNITED   STATES.  385 

to  controversies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a  party;  to 
controversies  between  two  or  more  States;  between  a  State  and 
citizen  of  another  State;  between  Citizens  of  different  States; 
between  citizens  of  the  same  State  claiming  lands  under  grants  of 
different  States,  and  between  a  State  or  the  citizens  thereof,  and 
foreign  States,  citizens  or  subjects. 

In  all  cases  affecting  Ambassadors,  other  public  Ministers  and 
Consuls,  those  in  which  a  State  shall  be  a  party,  the  Supreme 
Court  shall  have  original  jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other  cases  before 
mentioned,  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have  appellate  jurisdiction, 
both  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  such  exceptions,  and  under  such  reg 
ulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall  be 
by  jury ;  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  State  where  the  said 
crimes  shall  have  been  committed ;  but  when  not  committed  within 
any  State,  the  trial  shall  be  at  such  place  or  places  as  the  Congress 
may  by  law  have  directed. 

SEC.  3.  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  consist  only  in 
levying  war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giving 
them  aid  and  comfort. 

No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason,  unless  on  the  testimony 
of  two  witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  confession  in  open 
court. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment  of 
treason,  but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption  of  blood, 
or  forfeiture,  except  during  the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

ARTICLE  rv. 

SECTION  1.  Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  State  to 
the  public  acts,  records,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  every  other 
State.  And  the  Congress  may  by  general  laws  prescribe  the  manner 
in  which  such  acts,  records,  and  proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and 
the  effect  thereof. 

SEC.  2.  The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privi 
leges  and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  States. 

A  person  charged  in  any  State  with  treason,  felony,  or  other 
crime,  who  shall  flee  from  justice,  and  be  found  in  another  State, 


386  CONSTITUTION    OF  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

shall  on  demand  of  the  executive  authority  of  the  State  from 
which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be  removed  to  the  State  having 
jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  under  the  laws 
thereof  escaping  to  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or 
regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but 
shall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service 
or  labor  may  be  due. 

SEC.  3.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the  Congress  into  this 
Union ;  but  no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  any  other  State ;  nor  any  State  be  formed  by  the 
junction  of  two  or  more  States,  or  parts  of  States,  without  the  con 
sent  of  the  Legislatures  of  the  States  concerned  as  well  as  of  the 
Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all  need 
ful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  Territory  or  other  property 
belonging  to  the  United  Sfates ;  and  nothing  in  this  Constitution 
shall  be  so  construed  as  to  prejudice  any  claims  of  the  United 
States,  or  of  any  particular  State. 

SEC.  4.  The  Constitution  shall  guarantee  to  every  State  in  the 
Union  a  Republican  form  of  Government,  and  shall  protect  each 
of  them  against  invasion ;  and  on  application  of  the  Legislature, 
or  of  the  executive  (when  the  Legislature  can  not  be  convened) 
against  domestic  violence. 

ARTICLE  v. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both  Houses  shall  deem 
it  necessary,  shall  propose  amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or,  on 
the  application  of  the  Legislature  of  two-thirds  of  the  several 
States,  shall  call  a  convention  for  proposing  amendments,  which, 
in  either  case,  shall  be  valid  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  part  of 
this  Constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of  three-fourths 
of  the  several  States,  or  by  conventions  in  three-fourths  thereof,  as 
the  one  or  :he  other  mode  of  ratification  may  be  proposed  by  the 
Congress ;  provided  that  no  amendment  which  may  be  made  prior 
to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any 
manner  affect  the  first  and  fourth  clauses  in  the  ninth  section  of 


CONSTITUTION   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES.  387 

the  first  article ;  and  that  no  State,  without  its  consent,  shall  be 
deprived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the  Senate. 

ARTICLE   VI. 

All  debts  contracted  and  engagements  entered  into,  before  the 
adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  valid  against  the  United 
States  under  this  Constitution,  as  under  the  Confederation. 

This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which 
shall  be  made  in  pursuance  thereof;  and  all  treaties  made,  or 
which  shall  be  made,  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States, 
shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land ;  and  the  judges  in  every 
State  shall  be  bound  thereby,  anything  in  the  constitution  or  laws 
of  any  State  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

The  senators  and  representatives  before  mentioned,  and  the 
members  of  the  several  State  Legislatures,  and  all  executive  and 
judicial  officers,  both  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  several 
States,  shall  be  bound  by  oath  or  affirmation,  to  support  this 
Constitution;  but  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a 
qualification  to  any  office  or  public  trust  under  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE    VII. 

The  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  nine  States  shall  be 
sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  this  Constitution  between  the 
States  so  ratifying  the  same. 

Done  in  convention  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  States  present, 
the  seventeenth  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  and  of  the  independ 
ence  of  the  United  States  the  twelfth.  In  witness  whereof  we 
have  hereunto  subscribed  our  names. 

GEO.  WASHINGTON, 
President^  and  Deputy  from  Virginia. 


388 


CONSTITUTION   OF  THE  UNITED   STATES. 


NEW    HAMPSHIRE. 

John  Langdon, 
Nicholas  Oilman. 


PENNSYLVANIA. 


VIRGINIA. 


Benjamin  Franklin,     John  Blair, 


MASSACHUSETTS. 

Nathaniel  Gorham, 
Rufus  King. 


Thomas  Mifflin, 
Robert  Morris, 
George  Clymer, 


James  Madison,  Jr. 


NORTH    CAROLINA. 


Thomas  Fitzsimons,     William  Blount, 


Rich'd  Dobbs  Spaight, 
Hugh  Williamson. 


Jared  Ingersoll, 
James  Wilson, 
Gouverneur  Morris. 

CONNECTICUT. 

Wm.  Samuel  Johnson,          DELAWARE. 
Roger  Sherman.  George  Reed, 

Gunning  Bedford,  Jr.,John  ^rtledge, 
Pierce  Butler. 


SOUTH   CAROLINA. 

Charles  C.  Pinckney, 
Charles  Pinckney, 


NEW  YORK.  John  Dickinson, 

Alexander  Hamilton.  Richard  Bassett, 
Jacob  Broom. 


GEORGIA. 


NEW  JERSEY. 


MARYLAND. 


William  Few, 
Abraham  Baldwin. 


William  Livingston,     James  M'Henry, 


David  Brearley, 
William  Paterson, 
Jonathan  Dayton. 


Daniel  of  St.  Thomas 

Jenifer, 
Daniel  Carroll. 
Attest:  WILLIAM  JACKSON,  Secretary. 


AMENDMENTS  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION. 

At  the  first  session  of  the  first  Congress  in  New  York,  March, 
1779,  many  amendments  to  the  National  Constitution  were  pro 
posed.  Congress  submitted  ten  of  them  to  the  legislatures  of  the 
States,  and  they  were  ratified,  in  accordance  with  the  Fifth  Article 
of  the  Constitution,  by  the  end  of  1791.  The  eleventh  amend 
ment  was  proposed  in  1794,  and  ratified  in  1798;  the  twelfth 
amendment  was  proposed  in  1803,  and  ratified  in  the  following 
year. 

In  1810  Congress  proposed  an  amendment  prohibiting  any 
citizen  of  the  United  States  from  receiving  or  accepting  any  title 
of  nobility  or  honor,  or  any  present,  pension,  office,  or  emolument 


CONSTITUTION   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES.  389 

of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  "person,  king,  prince,  or  foreign 
power,"  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  under  penalty  of  dis- 
franchisement  or  ceasing  to  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 
This  proposed  amendment  was  never  ratified. 

The  thirteenth  amendment  was  proposed  by  Congress  in  18G5, 
and  ratified  in  the  same  year  by  the  requisite  number  of  States. 
The  fourteenth  amendment  was  proposed  in  1866,  and  was  intended 
to  complete  the  work  of  the  thirteenth.  Two  years  later  it  had 
received  the  requisite  number  of  votes  in  its  favor  to  make  it  a 
part  of  the  Constitution. 

The  fifteenth  amendment  was  submitted  to  the  legislatures  of 
the  States  by  resolution  of  Congress  in  February,  1869,  and  ratified 
by  the  necessary  number  of  States  in  the  early  part  of  1870.  One 
State,  New  Jersey,  ratified  it  nearly  a  year  after  the  proclamation 
of  the  Secretary  of  State  announcing  that  it  had  become  a  part  of 
the  Constitution 

AMENDMENTS. 

ARTICLE    I. 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof ;  or  abridging  the 
freedom  of  speech,  or  of  the  press;  or  the  right  of  the  people 
peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to  petition  the  government  for  a  redress 
of  grievances. 

ARTICLE    II. 

A  well-regulated  militia  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a  free 
State,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms  shall  not  be 
infringed. 

ARTICLE    III. 

No  soldier  shall  in  time  of  peace  be  quartered  in  any  house, 
without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a 
manner  to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

ARTICLE    IV. 

The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses, 
papers,  and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures, 
shall  not  be  violated,  and  no  warrants  shall  issue  but  upon  probable 


390  CONSTITUTION    OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

cause,  supported  by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing 
the  place  to  be  searched,  and  the  person  or  things  to  be  seized. 

ARTICLE   V. 

No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or  otherwise 
infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand 
jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the 
militia,  when  in  actual  service  in  time  of  war  or  public  danger ; 
nor  shall  any  person  be  subject  for  the  same  offence  to  be  twice 
put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb;  nor  shall  be  compelled  in  any 
criminal  case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor  be  deprived  of 
life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law;  nor  shall 
private  property  be  taken  for  public  use,  without  just  compensation. 

ARTICLE   VI. 

In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right  to 
a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and 
district  wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  committed,  which 
district  shall  have  been  previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be 
informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation;  to  be  con 
fronted  with  the  witnesses  against  him;  to  have  compulsory 
process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  have  the 
assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defense. 

ARTICLE    VII. 

In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy  shall 
exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved, 
and  no  fact  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any 
court  of  the  United  States,  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the 
common  law. 

ARTICLE    VIII. 

Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed, 
nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishments  inflicted. 

ARTICLE   IX. 

The  enumeration,  in  the  Constitution,  of  certain  rights,  shall  not 
be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the  people. 


CONSTITUTION   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES.  391 


ARTICLE   X. 


The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States,  by  the  Constitu 
tion,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States 
respectively,  or  to  the  people. 


ARTICLE    XI. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  construed 
to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted 
against  one  of  the  United  States  by  citizens  of  another  State,  or 
by  citizens  or  subjects  of  any  foreign  State. 

ARTICLE   XII. 

The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States,  and  vote  by 
ballot  for  President  and  Yice-President,  one  of  whom,  at  least, 
shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with  themselves; 
they  shall  name  in  their  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  President, 
and  in  distinct  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and 
they  shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  President, 
and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  of  the  number 
of  votes  for  each,  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and 
transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate ; — The  President  of 
the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Rep 
resentatives,  open  all  the  certificates  and  the  votes  shall  then  be 
counted; — the  person  having  the  grestest  number  of  votes  for 
President,  shall  be. the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed;  and  if  no  person  have 
such  majority,  then  from  the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers, 
not  exceeding  three  on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President, 
the  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot, 
the  President.  But  in  choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be 
taken  by  States,  the  representation  from  each  State  having  one 
vote;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or 
members  from  two-thirds  of  the  States,  and  a  majority  of  all  the 
States  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if  the  House  of 
Representatives  shall  not  choose  a  President  whenever  the  right  of 


392  CONSTITUTION    OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 

choice  shall  devolve  upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March 
next  following,  then  the  Yice-President  shall  act  as  President,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  death  or  other  constitutional  disability  of  the 
President.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as 
Vice-President  shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such  number  be  a 
majority  of  the  whole  number  of  Electors  appointed,  and  if  no 
person  have  a  majority,  then  from  the  two  highest  numbers  on  the 
list,  the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Yice-President ;  a  quorum  for  the 
purpose  shall  consist  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of 
Senators,  and  a  majority  of  the  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a 
choice.  But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of 
President  shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States. 

ARTICLE    XIII. 

SECTION  1.  Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except 
as  a  punishment  for  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly 
convicted,  shall  exist  within  the  United  States,  or  in  any  place 
subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 

SEC.  2.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article  by 
appropriate  legislation. 

ARTICLE    XIV. 

SECTION  1.  All  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United 
States,  and  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the 
United  States  and  of  the  State  wherein  they  reside.  No  State 
shall  make  or  enforce  any  law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges 
or  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States;  nor  shall  any 
State  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property  without  due 
process  of  law ;  nor  deny  to  any  person  within  its  jurisdiction  the 
equal  protection  of  the  law. 

SEC.  2.  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  several 
States  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  counting  the  whole 
number  of  persons  in  each  State,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed; 
but  wrhen  the  right  to  vote  at  any  election  for  the  choice  of 
electors  for  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States, 
Representatives  in  Congress,  the  executive  and  judicial  officers  of 
a  State,  or  the  members  of  the  Legislature  thereof,  is  denied  to 


CONSTITUTION    OP   THE   UNITED   STATES.  893 

any  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such  State,  (being  twenty-one 
years  of  age  arid  citizens  of  the  United  States,)  or  in  any  way 
abridged  except  for  participation  in  rebellion  or  other  crime,  the 
basis  of  representation  therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the  proportion 
which  the  number  of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole 
number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such  State. 

SEC.  3.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  or  Representative  in  Con 
gress,  or  Elector,  or  President,  or  Vice-President,  or  hold  any  office, 
civil  or  military,  under  the  United  States,  or  under  any  State,  who, 
having  previously  taken  an  oath  as  a  member  of  Congress,  or  as  an 
officer  of  the  United  States,  or  as  a  member  of  any  State  legisla 
ture,  or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer  of  any  State,  to  support 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  shall  have  engaged  in  insur 
rection  or  rebellion  against  the  same,  or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the 
enemies  thereof;  but  Congress  may,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  each 
House,  remove  such  disability. 

SEC.  4.  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the  United  States, 
authorized  by  law,  including  debts  incurred  for  payment  of  pen 
sions  and  bounties,  for  services  in  suppressing  insurrection  or  re 
bellion,  shall  not  be  questioned;  but  neither  the  United  States  nor 
any  State  shall  assume  or  pay  any  debt  or  obligation  incurred  in 
aid  of  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  or  any 
claim  for  the  loss  of  or  emancipation  of  any  slave.  But  all  such 
debts,  obligations,  and  claims  shall  be  held  illegal  and  void. 

SEC.  5.  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce,  by  appropriate 
legislation,  the  provisions  of  this  article. 

ARTICLE    XV. 

SECTION  1.  The  right  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  to 
vote  shall  not  be  denied  or  abridged  by  the  United  States  or  any 
State,  on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

SEC.  2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce  this  article 
by  appropriate  legislation. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  FIRST  PRESIDENT  OF 
THE  UNITED  STATES— SKETCH  OF  HIS  LIFE 
AND  ADMINISTRATION. 

His  Remarkable  Modesty. — Opposed  to  Slavery  Although  a  Slave 
holder. — The  Country  Bordering  on  Anarchy. — Quarrels  Between 
the  Federalists  and  Anti-Federalists. — Not  a  Partisan  Himself. — His 
Virtues  Derived  from  His  Mother. — Mount  Vernon  an  Inheritance 
from  His  Brother. — His  Sense  of  Justice. — Love  of  Truth  and  Per 
sonal  Honor. — Farewell  Address  to  His  Army. — His  Admirably  Bal 
anced  Character. — Washington's  Cabinet. — His  Retirement  to  Private 
Life  at  Most  Welcome. 

Although  six  years  elapsed  between  the  resignation  of 
George  Washington  as  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  con 
tinental  army  and  his  inauguration  as  first  President  of 
the  United  States,  there  was  never  any  doubt  in  the 
minds  of  the  mass  of  his  fellow-countrymen  that,  what 
ever  form  the  new  executive  office  might  take,  he  would 
be  called  upon  to  fill  it. 

No  American  has  ever  been  so  distinctly  the  first 
citizen  of  his  country,  albeit  he  was  at  the  time  the  cen 
tral  figure  of  a  group  of  men  more  remarkable  as  a 

(894) 


i 


s-  3 


11   I 


s  r  ISflSay -<-»— JW>    -   r_;-ara 

k. 


LIVES    OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  897 

group,  perhaps,  than  any  the  nation  has  since  produced. 
His  successors,  John  Adams,  Thomas  Jefferson,  James 
Madison,  and  _James  Monroe,  were  his  contemporaries, 
co-laborers,  and  friends  in  the  difficult  initial  years  of 
national  life ;  and  he  had  beside,  to  aid  in  his  cabinet 
counsels,  men  of  such  distinguished  ability  as  Alexander 
Hamilton  of  New  York ;  General  Henry  Knox  of  Mas 
sachusetts,  and  Edmund  Randolph  of  Virginia.  But  the 
power  which  made  Washington  preeminently  the  leader, 
resulted  from  the  extraordinary  equipoise  of  the  traits 
of  his  character.  A  better-balanced  man  has  seldom 
been  born  ;  and  everywhere,  and  under  all  circumstances, 
this  peculiar  evenness  made  him  superior  in  action  to 
men  whose  purely  intellectual  qualities  were  greater  than 
his.  To  his  strength  of  character  was  principally  due 
Washington's  grand  success  ;  for  he  had  no  unusual  ad 
vantages  in  his  childhood  and  youth  to  open  to  him  an 
easy  road  to  fame. 

Born  in  Westmoreland  County,  Virginia,  February  22, 
1732,  George  was  the  second  and  younger  son  of  Augus 
tine  Washington  and  Mary  Ball,  his  second  wife.  Augus 
tine  Washington  was  a  man  of  considerable  landed  prop 
erty,  as  were  most  of  the  Virginia  country  gentlemen. 
As  the  laws  of  primogeniture  were  yet  in  force  at  that 
period,  his  elder  son,  Lawrence,  received  far  more  bene 
fit  from  his  father's  means  than  did  George,  whose  sole 
education  was  gained  at  the  neighboring  schools,  consist- 


898  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

ing  mainly  of  the  three  essentials,  reading,  writing,  and 
arithmetic.  To  these,  he  himself  contrived  to  add  book 
keeping  and  surveying,  for  which  he  had  a  special  apti 
tude,  and  which,  later  in  life,  served  him  in  excellent 
stead.  All  the  anecdotes  of  his  childhood  and  youth 
show  that  he  early  developed  the  keen  sense  of  justice, 
the  high  regard  for  truth  and  deep  sense  of  personal 
honor  which  distinguished  him  until  his  death.  As  a 
lad,  he  was  a  noted  athlete,  a  bold  and  graceful  rider, 
and  did  well  whatever  he  undertook.  His  father,  Augus 
tine  Washington,  died  when  George  was  nine  years  old, 
leaving  the  estate  of  Mount  Yernon,  on  the  Potomac 
River,  to  the  elder  son  Lawrence.  George,  being  a  great 
favorite  with  his  elder  brother,  thereafter  spent  much  of 
his  time  at  Mount  Vernon,  so  that  his  early  as  well  as 
his  late  years  are  associated  with  the  pleasant  old  home 
stead.  It  was  at  one  time  intended  that  George  should 
enter  the  navy ;  but,  in  deference  to  his  mother's  strong 
opposition,  he  gave  up  the  idea,  and  devoted  himself 
most  earnestly  to  the  study  and  practice  of  surveying, 
which  he  proposed  to  make  his  profession. 

It  is  declared  that  George  Washington  inherited  from 
his  mother — as  many  other  great  men  are  thought  to  have 
done — those  qualities  of  mind  and  character  which  made 
him  great.  Mrs.  Washington  was  a  woman  of  vigorous 
intellect  and  indomitable  will,  with  a  strong  sense  of 
right  and  wrong ;  and  a  deep  determination  to  make  up 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  399 

in  the  training  of  her  son,  George,  so  far  as  possible,  for 
the  early  loss  of  his  father.  So  well  did  she  succeed  in 
her  efforts  that,  almost  before  he  had  reached  manhood, 
he  was  quite  fitted  to  take  a  man's  part  in  life.  When 
George  was  barely  nineteen,  he  received  the  appointment 
of  Adjutant,  with  the  rank  of  Major,  in  the  military  ser 
vice  of  Virginia,  which,  in  anticipation  of  the  beginning 
of  the  French  and  Indian  war,  was  mobilizing  as  rapidly 
as  possible  the  troops  at  command.  For  a  short  time, 
he  served  with  credit ;  but  was  soon  compelled  to  resign, 
in  order  to  accompany  his  brother  Lawrence  to  Barba- 
does  in  search  of  his  swiftly-failing  health.  The  trip 
failed  of  its  purpose,  and  Lawrence  returned  to  die  at 
Mount  Yernon  in  the  following  year,  1752.  In  the  event 
of  the  death  of  his  infant  daughter,  which  very  shortly 
took  place,  Lawrence  Washington  bequeathed  Mount 
Yernon  to  his  beloved  brother  George,  and  it  was  ever 
after  his  home  and  favorite  residence. 

At  this  juncture  the  difficulties  of  the  French  and 
Indian  troubles  became  so  great  that  Washington  was 
entrusted  with  a  delicate  mission  to  the  French  com 
mander,  which  he  performed  with  such  skill,  in  the  face 
of  such  dangers  and  disasters,  that  he  became  almost 
instantly  famous.  Offered  the  colonelcy  of  a  new  regi 
ment,  he  modestly  declined  it,  accepting  the  lieutenant- 
colonelcy  instead ;  but,  in  consequence  of  the  death  of 
the  colonel,  he  was  soon  after  compelled  to  fill  the 


400  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

position  he  had  previously  declined.  He  continued  in 
the  army,  serving  with  ability,  though  not  always  with 
success,  for  five  years,  until  the  fall  of  Fort  Duquesne, 
and  the  expulsion  of  the  French  from  the  Ohio  valley 
practically  closed  the  war,  and  gave  him  an  opportunity 
to  resign  with  honor,  ill-order  to  return  to  the  country 
life  he  preferred.  Another  fact,  which  doubtless  influ 
enced  his  decision  more  than  he  chose  to  admit,  was  that 
he  had  fallen  in  love  with  a  charming  widow,  Mrs.  Martha 
Custis,  to  whom  he  was  married — the  marriage  proved 
happy,  but  childless  —  on  January  17,  1759,  in  the 
twenty -seventh  year  of  his  age.  Having  been  trained 
by  his  mother  in  admirable  habits  of  thrift  and  manage 
ment,  he  had  already  been  enabled  to  considerably 
increase  the  property  left  him  by  his  father  and  his 
brother,  and  during  the  few  years  of  his  retirement  at 
Mount  Vernon,  he  increased  it  still  further.  Although 
a  slave-holder,  as  were  all  the  property  owners  of  his 
day,  he  was  sincerely  opposed  to  the  institution ;  neither 
bought  nor  sold  slaves,  and  declared  in  his  will  that  he 
would  gladly  manumit  all  of  his,  but  for  the  complica 
tions  which  would  arise  in  connection  with  those  inher 
ited  by  his  wife,  and  which  could  not  be  freed  until  her 
death.  So  considerate  a  master  was  he  that  he  abandoned 
the  cultivation  of  tobacco,  chiefly  because  he  believed  it 
to  be  injurious  to  the  hands  who  raised  it. 

Washington  was  not  one  of  those  who  early  desired  a 


LIVES   OP   THE   PRESIDENTS.  401 

rupture  with  England ;  but  when  convinced  that  the 
Colonies  could  not  get  justice  from  the  home  government, 
he  became  an  ardent  patriot,  and  was  appointed  Com- 
mander-in-Chicf  of  the  Revolutionary  army  on  June  15th, 
1775,  two  months  after  the  first  shot  had  been  fired  at 
Concord.  Probably,  no  commander  ever  entered  a  war, 
conducted  and  conquered  it,  who  was  so  ill  prepared  in 
every  material  way.  His  troops  were  inexperienced,  ill 
clothed,  ill  fed,  ill  paid,  if  they  chanced  to  be  paid  at  all ; 
he  was  himself  unaccustomed  to  handle  large  bodies  of 
troops,  nor  had  any  of  his  assistant-commanders  greater 
experience  on  which  he  might  draw.  He  had  to  conduct 
his  campaigns  over  a  large  area  of  country  against  an 
enemy  superior  in  everything  but  pluck  and  principle. 
He  had  private  enmity  and  public  opposition  to  en 
counter  ;  but  he  patiently,  hopefully,  and  skillfully  car 
ried  the  conflict  to  a  successful  close.  On  December 
23,  1783,  he  made  a  most  beautiful  parting  address  to 
his  army,  unbuckled  his  sword,  and  returned  to  his 
farming  on  the  Potomac. 

For  some  years  succeeding  the  close  of  the  Revolution, 
the  United  States  were  in  a  condition  bordering  on 
anarchy.  The  country  experienced  a  strong  sense  of 
relief  when  a  preliminary  convention  at  Annapolis  in 
1787,  assembled  to  consider  the  generally  hopeless  con 
dition,  called  another  and  more  important  convention  in 
the  following  May  at  Philadelphia.  It  was  at  this  con- 


402  LIVES   OP   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

vention  that  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was 
framed  and  adopted ;  and  it  was  immediately  after,  that 
George  "Washington  was  elected  President  and  John 
Adams  Vice-President  of  the  then  infant  country.  In 
view  of  the  importance  with  which  the  vote  of  the  State 
of  New  York  is  now  regarded  in  Presidential  elections, 
it  is  a  curious  historical  fact  that  New  York  was  the  only 
State  that  cast  no  vote  at  the  first  election  of  Washing 
ton.  It  was  apparently  from  mere  want  of  interest  in 
the  new  constitutional  government  that  New  York 
neglected  so  important  a  duty.  In  Washington's  first 
cabinet  sat  Thomas  Jefferson  as  Secretary  of  State ; 
Alexander  Hamilton  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury; 
Henry  Knox  as  Secretary  of  War,  and  Edmund  Ran 
dolph  as  Attorney-General ;  and  the  administration 
opened  with  brilliant  promise.  It  was  not  long,  how 
ever,  before  the  interests  of  the  Federalists  and  anti- 
Federalists  began  to  clash  in  the  persons  of  their  leaders 
in  the  cabinet, — Hamilton  and  Knox  on  the  former  side, 
Jefferson  and  Randolph  on  the  latter.  President  Wash 
ington  carried  himself  with  great  tact  between  the  op 
posing  factions,  although  his  personal  leanings  were 
slightly  toward  the  Federalists ;  but  they  ultimately  dis 
membered  his  cabinet,  depriving  him  of  the  strong  sup 
port  he  had  relied  on,  and  toward  the  latter  years  of  his 
second  term,  despoiling  him  of  much  of  his  popularity. 
"Washington  liad  not  desired  a  reelection,  and  only  con- 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  403 

sented  to  a  second  term  at  the  most  earnest  solicitation 
of  men  whose  advice  he  felt  bound  to  take.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  he  welcomed  the  day  of  his  permanent 
return  to  Mount  Vernon.  He  lived  three  years  after  his 
retirement  from  the  Presidency,  and  died  at  Mount 
Vernon  of  an  attack  of  acute  laryngitis  after  twenty-four 
hours  of  illness,  on  December  14,  1799,  in  the  sixty- 
eighth  year  of  his  age. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


JOHN    ADAMS,    SECOND    PRESIDENT     OF    THE 
UNITED  STATES. 

Not  by  any  Means  so  Popular  as  His  Predecessor. — Elected  by 
Three  Votes  Only. — The  Country  Beginning  to  be  an  Indcpendant 
Nation. — Commencing  Life  as  a  School  Teacher. — His  Wife  a  Re 
markable  Woman. — Adams  a  Vigorous  Speaker  and  Pointed  Writer 
of  Choleric  Temper. — Bitter  Hostility  Between  Parties. — Employed 
on  Delicate  Missions. — Extremely  Active  in  Political  Life. — One  of 
the  First  to  See  a  Final  Rupture  with  the  Mother  Country  Inevitable. 

When  John  Adams,  the  second  President,  succeeded 
Washington  in  the  executive  chair  on  March  4,  1797,  he 
was  by  no  means  the  unanimous  choice  of  the  people  his 
predecessor  had  been.  Indeed,  his  election  was  secured 
by  only  three  votes  more  than  Thomas  Jefferson,  his 
most  powerful  rival  of  the  opposition,  received.  As  the 
custom  then  prevailed  of  the  candidate  receiving  the 
second  largest  vote  becoming  Vice-President,  Jefferson 
assumed  that  office,  and  the  anomalous  spectacle  was 
presented  of  a  President  and  Yice-President  of  opposing 

(404) 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  405 

political  parties.  During  the  eight  years  of  Washing 
ton's  administration,  the  United  States  had  been  grad 
ually  and  surely  taking  on  the  characteristics  of  an  inde 
pendent  nation,  although  a  nation  so  young  as  not  to 
have  arranged  its  domestic  economies,  or  adjusted  its 
foreign  relations.  As  the  sense  of  general  security 
increased,  factional  and  sectional  differences  were  greatly 
augmented,  because  the  leading  men  had  then  more  time 
and  attention  to  give  to  secondary  matters.  Therefore, 
although  John  Adams  found  an  organized  body  politic 
where  Washington  found  chaos,  he  also  met  internal 
dissension,  intense  personal  enmities,  and  European 
complications  that  rendered  the  Presidency  anything  but 
desirable  to  any  one  who  was  not  a  strong  man  and  a 
true  patriot.  Both  of  these  Adams  unquestionably  was. 
Born  in  that  portion  of  the  old  town  of  Braintree,  now 
known  as  Quincy,  Massachusetts,  on  the  30th  of  October, 
1735,  he  was  the  eldest  son  of  John  Adams,  an  estima 
ble  farmer  of  limited  means.  Possessed  by  the  charac 
teristic  New  England  desire  for  education,  the  father  did 
his  best  for  the  son,  who  was  graduated  from  Harvard 
College  in  1755.  Like  many  who  have  become  famous 
in  the  history  of  this  country,  he  began  his  practical  life, 
after  leaving  college,  by  teaching  school,  at  Worcester, 
Massachusetts.  Having  exceptional  intellectual  power, 
and  a  lively  ambition,  the  atmosphere  of  a  grammar 
school  neither  suited  nor  satisfied  young  John  ;  and  in 


406  LIVES  OF  THE  PEESIDENTS. 

the  hope  of  opening  a  new  path  to  fame  and  fortune,  he 
began,  while  still  teaching,  the  study  of  law.  He  had 
thought  of  becoming  a  clergyman,  but  witnessing  cer 
tain  church  quarrels  in  his  native  town,  he  was,  to  quote 
his  own  words,  "  terrified  out  of  it."  He  would  have 
been  glad  to  enter  the  army,  had  he  possessed  the  influ 
ence  to  secure  a  commission.  That  being  out  of  the 
question,  the  law  seemed  his  only  resource,  and  he 
applied  himself  with  such  energy  to  it,  that  in  two  years 
he  began  to  practice  in  Boston,  at  the  Suffolk  County 
Bar.  Before  very  long  he  had  built  up  a  practice  which, 
as  he  considered,  justified  him  in  marrying,  and,  accord 
ingly,  in  1764,  he  united  himself  to  Abigail  Smith,  the 
daughter  of  a  prominent  clergyman  of  Weymouth.  This 
union,  which  at  the  time  it  took  place,  promised  to  bring 
young  Adams  considerable  worldly  advantage,  his  wife's 
family  connections  being  much  more  prominent  and  pros 
perous  than  his  own,  proved  in  every  way  to  be  most  for 
tunate.  Abigail  Adams  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
women  of  the  Revolutionary  period.  Her  qualities  so  ad 
mirably  supplemented  her  husband's,  and  her  nature  so 
thoroughly  assimilated  with  his  that  the  marriage  not 
only  brought  him  personal  happiness,  but  it  enabled  him 
to  grasp  all  of  the  great  opportunities  which  later  crowded 
his  life.  Wherever  and  whenever  his  public  duties  ren 
dered  it  necessary  for  him  to  neglect  his  private  duties,  his 
wife  more  than  made  good  the  neglect.  With  less  of  the 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS  407 

• 

womanly  softness  and  charm  of  her  successor  in  the 
White  House,  pretty  Dolly  Madison,  Abigail  Adams  had 
a  strength  of  character  and  a  vigor  of  mind  that  found 
full  vent  in  the  troublous  times  in  which  she  lived.  She 
was  so  true  a  helpmate  that  wherever  his  life  is  told,  hers 
should  not  be  omitted. 

The  early  shadows  of  the  Revolution  were  beginning 
to  fall  when  John  Adams  was  married  ;  and  the  agitation 
of  the  Stamp  Act  called  him  to  the  political  front  in  his 
native  town.  He  was  appointed  junior  counsel  with 
Jeremiah  Gridley  and  James  Otis,  to  present  a  memorial 
to  the  Governor  and  Council  praying  that  the  courts  might 
conduct  their  business  without  the  use  of  stamps.  From 
that  time  on,  Adams  was  continually  in  public  and  poli 
tical  life  until  he  retired  from  the  Presidency  in  1801. 
He  held  many  offices,  beginning  with  that  of  Represen 
tative  to  the  General  Court  (Legislature),  ardently  work 
ing  with  tongue  and  pen  for  what  he  believed  to  be  the 
best  good  of  the  country.  He  was  a  vigorous  speaker ; 
a  terse  and  pointed  though  not  eloquent  writer ;  and  be 
ing  naturally  somewhat  pugnacious,  he  found  plenty  of 
occasion  for  the  use  of  his  best  ability. 

As  the  difficulties  with  the  mother  country  increased, 
and  the  future  of  the  colonies  became  more  uncertain, 
Adams  was  one  of  the  first  to  conclude  that  a  final  rup 
ture  was  inevitable ;  and  as  soon  as  he  had  come  io  this 
conclusion,  threw  himself  with  all  the  ardor  and  energy 


408  LIVES    OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

of  his  nature  into  the  work  of  preparing  the  country  for 
the  impending  conflict.  It  was  mainly  through  his 
efforts  that  the  important  Congress  of  1775,  which  sent 
a  final  petition  for  rights  to  King  George  III,  also  passed 
a  bill  to  put  the  colonies  in  a  state  of  defence,  in  the 
event  of  the  threatened  war.  It  was  he  also  who  per 
ceived  the  importance  of  making  Washington  Commander- 
in-Chief,  although  he  suggested  it  rather  from  the  politic 
motive  of  binding  the  Southern  States  to  the  interests  of 
the  Revolution,  than  because  he  then  regarded  him  as  the 
greatest  colonial  General.  About  this  time,  some  of  his 
private  letters,  full  of  candid  expressions  concerning 
men  and  measures,  fell  into  hands  for  which  they 
were  not  intended,  and  their  publication  caused  consider 
able  excitement,  and  aroused  some  distrust  of  him, 
though  not  enough  to  compel  him  in  any  way  to  abandon 
his  public  career.  Indeed,  throughout  his  life  Adams' 
inclination  to  unwise  letter-writing  frequently  got  him 
into  trouble,  and  finally  sent  him  out  of  the  Presidential 
office  under  an  unhappy  cloud. 

When  the  Revolution  was  finally  entered  upon,  Adams 
and  Jefferson  were  appointed  a  committee  to  draw  up 
articles  of  war  to  govern  the  army  ;  but  the  principal 
labor  of  preparation  fell  upon  Adams,  as  did  also  the 
work  of  getting  the  necessary  legislation  in  Congress, 
the  latter  being  by  far  the  harder  part.  In  spite  of  the 
impulsiveness  of  his  acts,  and  the  frequent  intemperance 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  409 

of  his  speech,  Adams'  opinion  and  advice  were  constantly 
in  demand,  and  he  was  ever  one  of  the  foremost  figures 
of  that  important  period.  His  really  clear  head  and  in 
tegrity  of  purpose  were  always  patent,  and  he  was  called 
upon  to  fill  the  most  important  positions.  He  was  sent 
to  Paris  on  the  delicate  mission  of  securing  the  alliance  t 
of  France  for  the  revolting  colonies  ;  to  England  to  treat 
for  peace  and  negotiate  a  commercial  treaty ;  to  Hol 
land  to  raise  a  loan  for  the  almost  bankrupt  States.  His 
services  in  Europe  were  so  important  to  his  country  that 
he  was  kept  there  in  one  and  another  capacity  for  fully  ten 
years,  closing  his  career  there,  at  last,  in  the  capacity  of 
Minister  to  the  Court  of  St.  James.  Almost  immediately 
upon  his  return  to  America,  he  was  elected  Vice-Presi 
dent,  and  occupied  that  office  for  two  the  terms  of  Wash 
ington's  Presidency. 

During  Adams'  Presidency,  the  antagonism  between 
the  Federal  and  anti-Federal  parties  became  so  intense, 
and  party  feeling  ran  so  high  that  the  President,  an  ar 
dent  Federalist,  was  led  into  many  injudicious  public  acts 
that  lessened  the  general  confidence  in  his  judgment, 
and  in  connection  with  foreign  complications,  ultimately 
overthrew  the  party  of  which  he  was  the  distinguished 
head.  After  his  second  nomination,  he  was  so  thoroughly 
beaten  by  his  chief  antagonist,  Thomas  Jefferson,  the 
leader  of  the  anti-Federalists,  that  he  quitted  the  capital 
in  bitterness  of  spirit  and  deep  disappointment  before 


410  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

the  newly-elected  Executive  was  inaugurated.  Although, 
to  a  certain  extent,  Adams  brought  his  defeat  distinctly 
upon  himself,  still  he  was  largely  justified  in  considering 
that  his  country  had  made  him  a  poor  return  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century's  absolute  self-devotion  to 
its  interests.  He  was  as  honest  and  true  a  patriot  as  a 
man  could  be ;  and  united  to  a  large  mind  a  character, 
which,  while  it  was  not  lovable,  commanded  always  the 
the  highest  esteem  and  respect. 

Adams  lived  twenty-five  years  longer  in  retirement  at 
his  home  in  Braintree,  dying  on  the  4th  of  July,  1826, 
at  the  age  of  ninety,  within  an  hour  or  two  of  the  demise 
of  his  old  friend  and  old  rival  Thomas  Jefferson.  Within 
the  last  dozen  years  of  their  lives,  the  breach  between 
them  caused  by  Adams's  final  political  overthrow,  was 
healed,  and  they  opened  a  correspondence  which  was  to 
each  a  great  consolation  during  their  last  inactive  years. 


CHAPTER      XXVI 


THOMAS    JEFFERSON,    THIRD    PRESIDENT    OF 
THE  UNITED  STATES. 

His  Pride  in  the  Authorship  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
— The  First  Genuine  Democrat. — His  Radical  Revision  of  the  Laws 
of  Virginia. — The  Final  Treaty  of  Peace. — His  Views  Opposed  to 
Hamilton's. — Genest's  Extraordinary  Conduct  as  French  Minister. — 
Love  of  France  and  French  Institutions. — Jefferson  and  Aaron  Burr 
Receive  the  Same  Number  of  Votes  for  President. — Simplification  of 
Customs  and  Manners. — His  Dislike  of  Titles. — His  Personal  Appear 
ance  and  Delightful  Companionship. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  the  third  President,  will  be  remem 
bered  in  history  as  tlie  author  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  when  his  Presidency  has  been  forgotten. 
He  was  much  prouder  of  having  written  that  immortal 
document  than  of  having  held  any  office,  and  desired 
that  the  fact  should  be  inscribed  on  his  tomb.  "  The 
Declaration  is  equal,"  says  Edward  Everett,  "  to  any 
thing  ever  born  on  parchment,  or  expressed  in  the, 
visible  signs  of  thought."  "The  heart  of  Jefferson,  in 
writing  it,"  remarks  George  Bancroft,  "beat  for  all 

(411) 


412  LIVES   OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

humanity."  Jefferson  was  born  at  Shadwell,  Va.,  not 
far  from  Monticello,  the  place  associated  with  his  name 
and  death,  April  2,  1743,  and  was  the  oldest  of  eight 
children.  His  parents  were  Peter  Jefferson,  a  man  of 
great  mental  and  physical  strength,  and  Jane  Randolph, 
of  direct  and  distinguished  English  descent.  Thomas 
began  at  nine  his  classical  studies,  and,  eight  years 
after,  entered  an  advanced  class  at  William  and  Mary 
College  at  Williamsburg,  where  he  was  noted  for  his 
diligence  and  proficiency  in  languages.  Having  studied 
law  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  twenty-four,  and  was 
so  successful  that  he  earned  the  first  year  about  $3,000, 
— equivalent  to  five  times  the  sum  at  the  present  time. 
He  began  his  public  career,  two  years  later,  as  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  where  he  had  heard,  while  a 
student,  Patrick  Henry's  great  speech  on  the  Stamp 
Act,  having  formed  his  acquaintance  when  Henry  was 
an  insolvent  shop-keeper.  In  1773,  he  joined  with 
Henry,  and  other  patriots,  in  devising  the  famous  Com 
mittee  of  Correspondence  and  Inquiry  for  spreading 
intelligence  between  the  Colonies.  Just  before  this,  he 
had  married  Martha  Skelton,  a  young  and  attractive 
widow,  the  daughter  of  a  prominent  lawyer.  She  had 
considerable  property  in  land  and  slaves,  and  as  he  also 
had  a  good  patrimony,  the  united  estate,  added  to  his 
professional  earnings,  was  quite  valuable. 

Elected  in  1774  to  a  convention  to  choose  delegates 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  413 

to  tlie  First  Continental  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  he 
drew  up  for  their  instruction  his  renowned  "  Summary 
View  of  the  Rights  of  British  America."  This  was 
rejected  as  too  radical,  but  was  afterward  issued  by  the 
House  of  Burgesses,  and  published  in  Great  Britain, 
after  some  revision  by  Edmund  Burke.  On  the  21st 
of  June,  1775,  he  took  his  seat  in  the  Continental 
Congress,  and  was  conspicuous  in  that  body  on  account 
of  his  intellectual  attainments  and  political  acumen. 
He  served  on  the  most  important  committees,  and  aided 
John  Dickinson  in  preparing  a  declaration  of  the  cause 
of  the  Colonies  taking  up  arms.  As  George  III  rejected 
their  final  petition,  and  thus  destroyed  all  hope  of  an 
honorable  adjustment  of  their  grievances,  Jefferson  was 
made  chairman  of  a  committee,  early  in  1776,  to  pre 
pare  a  Declaration  of  Independence.  It  was  unani 
mously  adopted  July  4th,  and  signed  by  every  member 
present  except  John  Dickinson,  of  Pennsylvania,  who 
believed  it  to  be  premature.  Several  months  later,  he 
resigned  his  seat  to  take  part  in  the  discussions  and 
examinations  of  the  Virginia  Assembly.  Having  fur 
nished  a  preamble  to  a  State  Constitution  previously 
adopted,  he  spent  two  years  and  a  half  in  radically 
revising  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth ;  procuring  the 
repeal  of  the  laws  of  entail,  the  abolition  of  primogeni 
ture,  and  the  restoration  of  the  rights  of  conscience. 
He  was  persuaded  that  these  and  kindred  reforms  would 
destroy  every  fibre  of  ancient  and  future  aristocracy. 


414  LIVES   OP  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

In  June,  1779,  Jefferson  succeeded  Patrick  Henry  as 
Governor  of  Virginia,  and  retained  the  office  for  one 
term ;  declining  a  reelection  on  the  ground  that,  at  so 
critical  a  period,  the  community  would  have  more  faith 
in  a  military  man.  He  had  hardly  retired  from  office 
when  his  estate  at  Elk  Hill  was  laid  waste  by  the 
British,  and  he  and  his  family  had  a  narrow  escape  from 
capture.  Sent  back  to  Congress  in  1783,  he  reported, 
as  chairman  of  a  committee,  the  final  treaty  of  peace — 
concluded  at  Paris,  September  3,  1783, — acknowledging 
the  independence  announced  in  the  Declaration  of  1776. 
A  bill,  establishing  the  present  Federal  system  of  coin 
age  as  a  substitute  for  the  British  system,  he  also 
proposed,  and  caused  to  be  passed  by  Congress.  In 
May,  1784,  he  was  appointed  Minister  Plenipotentiary 
to  negotiate,  with  Adams  and  Franklin,  treaties  of  com 
merce  and  amity  with  foreign  powers,  and  the  next  year 
he  succeeded  Franklin  as  resident-minister  at  Paris. 
He  became  very  fond  of  France  and  of  French  institu 
tions,  infinitely  preferring  them  to  those  of  England, 
and  manifested  his  predilection  ever  afterward.  His 
residence  abroad  was  one  of  the  happiest  periods  of  his 
life.  While  there  he  published  his  "Notes  on  Virginia," 
referring  to  commerce,  politics,  manufactures,  etc., 
which  attracted  attention  throughout  Europe.  He  per 
formed  his  diplomatic  duties  with  marked  ability ; 
became  intimate  with  D'Holbach,  Condorcet  D'Alembert, 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  415 

and  other  liberal  minds  ;  found  leisure  to  travel  in  the 
provinces,  Germany  and  Italy,  and  profited  much  by  his 
opportunities  and  experiences.  Having  obtained  per 
mission  to  return  home,  he  quitted  Paris  in  September, 
1789,  and  reached  Virginia  soon  after  the  election  of 
Washington,  who  offered  him  the  Secretaryship  of  State, 
which  he  accepted.  The  Federal  Constitution,  then 
recently  adopted,  he  did  not  approve,  because  he  thought 
there  were  as  many  bad  as  good  things  in  it — an  opinion 
he  afterward  materially  modified. 

During  Washington's  administration,  the  two  great 
political  parties  of  the  country,  the  Republicans  and 
Federalists,  respectively  under  the  leadership  of  Jeffer 
son  and  Alexander  Hamilton,  then  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  began  their  vehement  opposition.  Jefferson 
passionately  combated  Hamilton's  funding  system,  his 
national  bank,  and  other  financial  measures,  and  ear 
nestly  advocated  aiding  France  with  our  arms,  when 
war  had  broken  out  between  her  and  Holland  and 
England ;  Hamilton  contending,  on  the  other  hand,  for 
a  strict  neutrality.  The  Republicans  were  disposed  to 
fit  out  privateers  in  American  ports,  to  cruise  against 
English  ships,  while  the  Federalists  denounced  any  such 
action  as  unjust,  and  as  likely  to  involve  us  in  war  with 
a  friendly  nation.  The  President,  who  had  just  entered 
on  his  second  term,  warned,  in  a  proclamation,  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States  against  carrying  to  the 


416  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

hostile  powers  articles  contraband  of  war,  or  doing 
aught  that  would  violate  the  neutrality  laws.  Jefferson 
favored  receiving  a  minister  from  the  French  Republic, 
who  was  received  in  the  person  of  Edward  Genest, 
and  was  so  cordially  welcomed  in  some  parts  of  the 
country  as  a  representative  of  the  nation  which  had 
helped  us  to  secure  our  freedom,  that  he  tried  to 
persuade  the  people  here  that  they  ought  to  do  all  they 
could  for  France.  He  fiercely  abused  the  Government 
for  its  want  of  sympathy,  and  even  fitted  out  privateers 
from  Charleston,  and  projected  hostile  expeditions 
against  Florida  and  Louisiana,  then  colonies  of  Spain. 
He  armed  a  prize,  and  ordered  her  to  sail  as  a  privateer. 
Hamilton  advocated  the  erection  of  a  battery  to  prevent 
this,  and  denounced  Genest  as  a  man  determined  to 
embroil  us  with  Great  Britain.  Jefferson  declared  the 
vessel  would  not  sail;  but  she  did  sail,  and  the  Federal 
ists  urged  that  the  Frenchman  should  be  ordered  out  of 
the  country  forthwith.  It  was  finally  determined  that 
a  request  should  be  made  for  his  recall,  and  he  was 
recalled.  But  he  decided  to  remain ;  he  settled  in  the 
State  of  New  York,  was  naturalized,  and  married  a 
daughter  of  George  Clinton.  These  differences  caused 
violent  discussions  in  the  Cabinet,  particularly  between 
Jefferson  and  Hamilton,  who  carried  all  his  measures 
against  his  rival.  Jefferson  resigned  his  office  December 
31, 1793,  and  retired  to  Monticello. 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  417 

At  the  close  of  Washington's  administration,  Jefferson 
was,  as  has  been  said,  nominated  for  the  Presidency  by 
the  Republicans,  against  John  Adams,  nominated  by  the 
Federalists.  At  the  election  Adams  got  the  largest 
number  of  votes,  and  was  declared  President,  and  Jeffer 
son  coming  next,  was,  according  to  a  then  existing  rule, 
the  V ice-President.  Accordingly  he  became  President 
of  the  United  States  Senate.  The  administration  was 
very  stormy,  in  consequence  of  disputes  with  France  and 
other  delicate  and  difficult  questions.  At  the  next  gen 
eral  election,  Jefferson  and  Adams  were  again  candidates 
of  their  respective  parties,  and  the  Republicans  were 
victorious,  though  casting  an  equal  number  of  votes — 
seventy-three — for  Jefferson  and  Aaron  Burr.  This 
threw  the  election  into  the  House  of  Representatives, 
which,  on  the  thirty-sixth  ballot,  declared  Jefferson 
President  and  Burr  Vice-President.  They  took  their 
seats  March  4,  1801,  in  Washington,  to  which  the 
capital  had,  a  short  time  previous,  been  removed.  Jef 
ferson  and  his  principles  had  triumphed  at  last,  and  he 
carefully  refrained  from  doing  anything  to  diminish  his 
great  popularity.  The  Federalists  were  treated  with 
consideration,  and  they  rapidly  dwindled  until  few  of 
them  were  left,  and  those  few  were  the  reverse  of  ag 
gressive.  Dress  and  manners  became  far  more  simple ; 
the  pompous  dignity  and  ceremony  of  Washington's 
epoch  disappeared,  to  give  place  to  extreme  simplicity,  to 
which  the  new  Executive  had  always  strenuously  inclined. 


418  LIVES   OF  THE   PRESIDENTS. 

The  government  bought  Louisiana,  which  had  been  ceded 
by  Spain  to  France,  for  $15,000,000,  and  the  advantage 
of  the  purchase  was  great.  Captains  Lewis  and  Clark 
received  instructions  from  Jefferson  to  explore  the  Con 
tinent  to  the  Pacific.  Commodore  Preble  sustained  the 
right  of  the  nation  in  the  Mediterranean  against  Morocco, 
and  Decatur  obliged  Tripoli  to  sue  for  peace  after  a  most 
gallant  exploit.  These  events  augmented  the  popularity 
of  Jefferson's  administration,  and  contributed  greatly  to 
his  reelection.  The  year  following,  he  was  obliged  to 
arrest  Burr  on  a  charge  of  treason,  and  he  was  blamed 
by  the  Federalists  for  his  apparent  anxiety  to  procure  his 
conviction.  International  questions  about  the  loss  of 
foreign  trade,  Napoleon's  blockading  European  ports, 
and  the  right  of  search  caused  much  commotion  during 
the  President's  second  term  ;  but  it  was  materially  abated 
when  he  retired  from  office,  and  closed  his  political  life. 
The  next  seventeen  years  he  spent  tranquilly  at  Monti- 
cello,  looking  after  the  interests  of  his  large  plantation, 
receiving  his  friends  and  admirers,  and  founding,  near 
Charlottesville,  the  Central  College,  now  known  as  the 
University  of  Virginia.  Several  years  before  his  death, 
he  became  -  embarrassed  by  his  exceeding  generosity, 
especially  in  the  way  of  indiscriminate  hospitality.  He 
breathed  his  last  July  4th,  in  his  eighty-fourth  year,  his 
mind  and  all  his  faculties  remaining  clear  to  the  end. 

No  American,  unless  it  be  Washington,  has  exercised 
a  greater  or  more  endearing  influence  on  his  country  and 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  419 

countrymen.  He  was  an  original  thinker,  a  thorough 
reformer,  and  a  genuine  democrat.  In  theology,  he  was 
what  is  styled  a  deist ;  in  politics,  he  was  inimical  to 
strong  government,  always  maintaining  that  the  world 
was  governed  in  excess.  He  believed  implicitly  in  State 
Rights  and  the  power  and  wisdom  of  the  people.  His 
life-long  repugnance  to  Hamilton  arose  from  the  con 
viction  that  lie  favored  a  monarchy  in  the  United  States. 
Many  of  his  political  views  were  moderated  as  he  grew 
older,  but  socially  he  was  an  uncompromising  and  un 
varying  democrat.  He  disrelished  all  titles  of  honor, 
objecting  even  to  the  common,  though  meaningless, 
"Mr."  While  he  never  made  a  formal  public  speech, 
he  was  an  expert  politician,  and  a  masterly  manager  of 
men  and  shaper  of  events.  He  regarded  slavery  as  a 
positive  evil,  morally  and  politically,  though  he  did  not 
favor  any  change  in  the  agricultural  system  of  the 
Southern  States.  He  was  a  devoted  husband,  a  tender 
father,  a  gentle  master,  and  a  warm-hearted  friend.  He 
was  more  than  six  feet  high ;  he  had  a  muscular,  well- 
knit  frame,  a  pleasant  face  with  a  fair  ruddy  complexion, 
light  hazel  eyes  and  reddish  hair.  His  voice  was  agree 
able,  his  conversation  intellectual,  fresh,  and  eloquent, 
and  his  companionship  delightful.  His  reputation  has 
not  been  impaired,  but  rather  increased  in  the  fifty- 
eight  years  that  have  passed  since  his  death,  and  he  will 
always  be  honored  as  one  of  the  ablest  and  noblest  of  the 
fathers  of  the  Republic. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 


JAMES  MADISON,  JAMES  MONROE,  AND  JOHN 
QUINCY  ADAMS,  FOURTH,  FIFTH,  AND 
SIXTH  PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES. 

Conciliatory  Character  of  Madison's  Administration. — His  Opin 
ions  on  the  Federal  Government, — His  Charming  Wife.— Decline  and 
Death  of  Federalism. — Monroe's  Election  Almost  Unanimous. — 
His  Gallant  Service  in  the  Field. — Wounded  at  Trenton. — The  Era 
of  Good  Feeling. — Monroe's  Views  of  Coercion. — Bitter  Disputes 
with  Great  Britain  Leading  to  the  War  of  1812.— The  Fifth  Presi 
dent's  Successful  Efforts  to  Restore  the  Public  Credit. — He  Dies  In 
volved  in  Debt. — Adams'  Early  Advantages  and  Experiences. — His 
Honorable  and  Distinguished  Career  in  the  House. 

JAMES  MADISON. 

The  Madisons  were  among  the  first  emigrants  from 
Great  Britain  to  the  Colonies,  having  disembarked  on 
the  shores  of  Chesapeake  Bay  very  soon  after  the  settle 
ment  of  Jamestown.  James  Madison,  the  fourth  Presi 
dent,  the  son  of  Eleanor  Conway  and  James  Madison,  of 
Orange  County ,Va., a  prosperous  planter  of  high  standing, 

was  born,  March  16,  1751,  on  the  paternal  estate,  named 

(420) 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  421 

Montpelier,  and  was  the  eldest  of  seven  children.  He 
was  sent,  after  a  preliminary  education,  to  Princeton,  N. 
J.,  where  he  was  graduated  at  twenty,  though  he  re 
mained  there  another  year  to  pursue  a  course  of  general 
reading  under  the  direction  of  the  president  of  the 
college.  His  application  to  books  was  so  close  as  to 
impair  his  health,  which  continued  delicate  through  life. 
After  returning  home  he  studied  law,  combining  it  with 
other  studies,  theology,  philosophy,  and  literature  in 
particular,  thus  enriching  a  naturally  fine  mind.  He 
appears  to  have  had  a  strong  leaning  to  Orthodoxy — an 
inclination  of  the  time — and  to  have  been  deeply  inter 
ested  in  discovering,  so  far  as  possible,  the  evidences  of 
Christianity.  He  might  have  passed  years  in  such 
grateful  occupations,  had  he  not  been  gradually  drawn 
into  public  affairs.  At  twenty-five  he  was  chosen  a 
member  of  the  Virginia  Convention,  but  was  defeated  the 
year  following,  because  he  refused  to  " treat"  the  voters, 
— treating  was  then  a  universal  custom  in  the  common 
wealth, — and  because  he  showed  no  oratorical  powers. 
In  1779  "he  was  elected  to  the  General  Congress,  and  re 
tained  his  seat  for  three  years,  strongly  opposing  the 
issue  of  paper  money  by  the  States. 

From  that  time  he  became  a  most  conspicuous  figure 
in  political  events ;  he  was  reflected  in  1786,  and  was 
also  a  member  the  next  year  of  the  National  Convention, 
which  met  in  Philadelphia  to  frame  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States.  He  warmly  advocated  its  adoption 


422  LIVES   OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

in  debate,  and  by  a  series  of  essays,  afterward  published 
in  the  Federalist,  the  joint  production  of  Madison,  Ham 
ilton,  and  Jay.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Con 
vention,  which,  in  1788,  after  a  passionate  discussion, 
adopted  the  Federal  Constitution  by  a  small  majority. 
The  year  following  he  entered  Congress,  taking  sides 
with  the  Republicans  in  opposition  to  the  political  views 
of  Washington  and  the  financial  measures  of  Hamilton. 
He  was  not  a  partisan,  however;  his  words  and  acts 
were  moderate,  all  his  efforts  being  directed  toward  the 
reconciliatien  of  party  leaders.  Much  attached  to  Wash 
ington  and  Hamilton,  he  disliked  exceedingly  to  differ 
from  them ;  but  he  was  so  amiable  and  kind-hearted  that 
their  differences  never  affected  his  personal  feelings. 
His  views  concerning  the  Federal  Government  are  pre 
served  in  the  autograph  of  Washington,  which  contains 
the  substance  of  a  letter  written  to  him  by  Madison,  ad 
verse  to  a  plan  of  complete  centralization.  He  is  equally  op 
posed  to  the  "  individual  independence  of  the  States,"  and 
to  the  "  consolidation  of  the  whole  into  one  simple  Repub 
lic."  But  he  favored  giving  to  Congress  the  power  to  exer 
cise  a  negative  in  all  cases  whatever  on  the  legislative  acts 
of  the  States,  as  heretofore  exercised  by  the  kingly  pre 
rogative.  He  believes  that  "  the  right  of  coercion  should 
be  expressly  declared ;  but  the  difficulty  and  awkward 
ness  of  operating  by  force  on  the  collective  will  of  a 
State  renders  it  particularly  desirable  that  the  necessity 
of  it  should  be  precluded."  He  afterwards  materially 


LIVES  OP  THE  PRESIDENTS.  423 

altered  these  views,  though  he  cherished  and  expressed 
them  earnestly  in  the  Philadelphia  Convention. 

At  forty-three  he  married  Mrs.  Dorothy  Todd,  a  Yir- 
ginian,  lovely,  amiable,  and  accomplished,  the  widow  of  a 
Philadelphia  lawyer.  She  was  constantly  spoken  of  as 
the  fascinating  Dolly  Madison.  Their  marriage  was 
entirely  harmonious ;  but  they  had  no  children.  It  is 
generally  supposed  that  eminent  men  desire  sons,  at  least, 
to  perpetuate  their  name  and  fame,  though  the  sons  of 
eminent  men  seldom  distinguish  themselves.  The  early 
Presidents  were  not  fortunate  in  this.  Washington  was 
childless ;  so  was  Madison  and  Jackson,  and  Jefferson 
had  two  daughters  only. 

At  forty-two  he  declined  the  Secretaryship  of  State, 
vacated  by  Jefferson,  but  remained  in  Congress  until  he 
was  forty-six.  He  was  adverse  to  the  Alien  and  Sedition 
Laws,  and  he  wrote  the  Resolutions  of  1T98,  as  they  were 
called,  inveighing  against  all  attempts  to  augment  the 
power  of  the  Federal  Government  by  strained  construc 
tions  of  general  clauses  of  the  Constitution.  Appointed 
Secretary  of  State  by  Jefferson  in  1801,  he  filled  the 
office  for  eight  years  in  a  manner  entirely  acceptable  to 
his  fellow-citizens.  In  1808  he  was  made  President, 
receiving  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  out  of  one  hun 
dred  and  seventy -five  electoral  votes  ;  the  Federal  candi 
date,  Charles  C.  Pinckney,  receiving  forty-seven.  During 
his  first  term  the  country  had  numberless  acrimonious 
disputes  with  Great  Britain  on  account  of  her  impressing 


424  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

American  seamen,  searching  American  vessels  for  de 
serters,  and  injuring  the  national  commerce  by  orders 
in  council.  As  no  redress  could  be  had,  these  continued 
outrages  led  to  a  declaration  of  war  on  our  part — the  war 
of  1812,  as  it  is  commonly  called.  In  the  autumn  of  the 
same  year,  Madison  was  reflected  against  De  Witt  Clin 
ton,  getting  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  electoral  votes 
from  the  Slave  States,  added  to  Vermont,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Ohio.  The  war,  very  unpopular  in  many  quarters, 
was  continued  for  two  years  and  seven  months,  when  a 
treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at  Ghent.  Commodore  Perry 
gained  a  naval  battle  on  Lake  Erie ;  a%  small  British 
force  ascended  the  Chesapeake,  and  by  a  sudden  move 
ment  burned  Washington;  the  battles  of  Chippewa  and 
Lundy's  Lane  were  fought  in  Canada,  and  Jackson  won 
the  memorable  victory  at  New  Orleans,  January  8, 1815 
— the  news  of  the  peace  not  having  then  reached  these 
shores.  On  the  4th  of  March,  1817,  he  retired  from 
public  life,  to  Montpelier,  where  he  died  in  his  eighty- 
sixth  year.  His  last  appearance  in  public  was  in  the 
Virginia  Convention,  assembled  in  1829,  to  reform  the  old 
Constitution.  He  was  quite  feeble  then ;  he  was  dressed 
in  black,  his  thin  gray  hair  still  powdered,  and  he  spoke 
in.  so  low  a  tone  that  the  members  were  obliged  to  leave 
their  seats  and  stand  near  him  to  hear  his  words. 

Not  possessed  of  the  orator's  gift,  he  was  yet  an  effec 
tive  speaker  through  his  honesty,  simplicity,  and  direct 
ness,  and  wielded  great  influence  in  debate.  He  was 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  425 

universally  esteemed  and  loved  ;  his  manners  were  always 
gentle  and  winning;  his  reputation  was  without  a  spot. 

JAMES  MONROE. 

Like  all  his  predecessors,  James  Monroe  belonged  to 
the  aristocratic  class  of  Virginia,  the  well-educated, 
highly-connected,  refined,  and  prosperous.  He  was  born 
on  his  father's  plantation,  in  Westmoreland  County,  Va., 
April  28, 1758,  being  descended  on  the  paternal  side 
from  an  officer  in  the  army  of  Charles  I.  He  was  edu 
cated  at  "William  and  Mary  College,  but  had  been  there 
only  two  years,  when  the  adoption  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  so  fired  his  soul  that  he  determined  to  join 
our  feeble  militia  against  the  trained  soldiers  of  England. 
He  went  to  Washington's  headquarters  in  New  York, 
and  enrolled  himself  as  a  cadet.  Our  ill-fed,  ill-clothed 
troops  were  disheartened,  and  the  Tories  were  very 
arrogant,  as  defeat  followed  defeat  to  the  Continental 
cause.  Young  Monroe  was  as  chivalrous  as  he  was 
patriotic ;  he  fought  heroically ;  was  active  as  a  lieu 
tenant  in  the  campaign  on  the  Hudson ;  was  wounded 
in  the  attack  on  Trenton,  and  made  a  Captain  for  his 
gallantry.  As  aide  to  Lord  Stirling  with  the  rank  of 
major,  he  distinguished  himself  at  Brandywine,  German- 
town,  and  Monmouth. 

Thus  losing  his  rank  in  the  regular  line,  and  unable  to 
reenter  the  army  as  a  commissioned  officer,  he  went  back 


426  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

to  Virginia,  and  began  studying  law  under  Thomas  Jef 
ferson,  then  Governor  of  the  State.  After  the  British 
had  invaded  Virginia,  he  did  what  he  could  to  organize 
the  militia  of  the  lower  counties,  and  when  they  moved 
southward,  he  was  sent  as  military  commissioner  to 
South  Carolina.  In  1782  lie  was  elected  to  the  Assembly 
of  Virginia,  and  was  made  a  member  of  the  Executive 
Council  at  twenty-three.  Having  been  chosen  delegate 
to  Congress,  and  being  persuaded  that  the  country  could 
not  be  governed  under  the  old  articles  of  confederation, 
he  favored  an  extension  of  the  powers  of  the  body,  and 
proposed,  later,  that  it  should  have  authority  to  regulate 
trade  between  the  States.  This  led  to  the  convention  at 
Annapolis,  and  afterward  to  the  adoption  of  the  Federal 
Constitution.  Monroe  formed  an  ingenious  plan  for  set 
tling  the  public  lands,  and  was  a  valuable  member  of  the 
commission  to  determine  the  boundary  between  Massa 
chusetts  and  New  York. 

At  twenty-seven  he  married  the  daughter  of  Lawrence 
Kortright  of  New  York,  a  noted  belle  and  social  leader, 
and  settled  at  Fredericksburg,  Va.  As  a  member  of  the 
Convention  of  Virginia  in  1788,  he  was  against  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States,  because  it  gave,  as  he 
thought,  too  much  power  to  the  general  government. 
His  course  placed  him  in  the  ranks  of  the  Republicans 
who  were  instrumental  in  sending  him  for  four  years  'to 
the  national  Senate.  In  1794  he  was  appointed  Minister 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  427 

to  France,  but  having  offended  the  native  government 
by  his  open  sympathy  with  the  French  republicans,  he 
was  recalled  after  two  years.  After  having  been  Gov 
ernor  of  Virginia  for  three  years,  he  went  to  France  as 
envoy-extraordinary  to  unite  with  the  resident  Minister, 
Edward  Livingston,  in  arranging  for  the  purchase  of 
Louisiana,  which  embraced  the  entire  valley  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,  and  which  was  sold  by  Bonaparte  for  $15,000,000. 
After  performing  other  diplomatic  missions  abroad,  he 
returned  home  in  1808,  and  spent  two  years  in  retire 
ment.  In  1811,  he  was  again  chosen  Governor  of  Vir 
ginia.  The  same  year  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of 
State  by  President  Madison,  and  after  the  capture  of 
Washington,  he  took  the  head  of  the  War  Department, 
without  resigning  his  former  office.  He  labored  long  and 
successfully  to  restore  the  public  credit,  and  improve  the 
condition  of  the  army,  pledging  his  private  fortune  to 
the  former  end.  He  continued  to  act  as  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  until  the  close  of  Madison's  administration ; 
he  was  the  President's  private  adviser  in  many  things, 
and  was  then  chosen  as  his  successor  by  the  party  who 
called  themselves  Democratic  Republicans.  Soon  after 
he  traveled  through  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States,  in 
the  undress  uniform  of  a  Continental  officer,  inspecting 
arsenals,  fortifications,  garrisons,  reviewing  troops,  and 
closely  studying  the  military  capability  of  the  country. 
He  was  much  liked  personally  and  politically  ;  party 


428  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

rancor,  which  had  been  so  fierce,  was  almost  extinguished, 
and  the  time  was  spoken  of  as  the  Era  of  Good  Feeling. 
During  his  first  term,  Maine,  Illinois,  and  Mississippi  were 
admitted  into  the  Union ;  a  convention  was  concluded 
between  this  country  and  England  concerning  the  New 
foundland  fisheries,  and  other  matters  of  importance,  and 
East  and  West  Florida,  with  the  adjacent  islands,  was 
ceded  by  Spain  to  the  United  States. 

In  1820,  Monroe  was  reflected  almost  unanimously, 
the  Federal  party  having  become  extinct.  The  next  year 
Missouri  was  taken  into  the  confederacy  after  a  long  and 
exciting  debate,  resulting  in  the  famous  Missouri  Com 
promise,  by  which  slavery  was  allowed  in  that  Slate,  but 
forever  prohibited  elsewhere,  north  of  the  parallel  36° 
30'.  What  is  now  known  as  the  Monroe  Doctrine  was 
announced  in  his  message  of  December  2,  1823,  on  the 
policy  of  our  not  interfering  with  the  affairs  of  Europe, 
and  not  allowing  Europe  to  interfere  with  those  of  the 
Western  Continent.  He  said  that  any  attempt  on  the 
part  of  the  Old  World  States  to  extend  their  system  to 
any  portion  of  this  hemisphere  would  be  regarded  by  us 
as  dangerous  to  our  peace  and  safety,  and  would  be 
strenuously  resisted.  At  the  close  of  his  administration, 
he  retired  to  Oak  Hill,  Loudon  County,  Virginia.  He 
was  afterward  made  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  at 
seventy-one  became  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Conven 
tion  to  revise  the  old  Constitution.  He  was  chosen  to 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  429 

preside  over  that  body  ;  but  ill  health  prevented,  and  he 
went  back  to  Oak  Hill.  In  his  last  years  he  was  troubled 
with  debt,  notwithstanding  that  he  had  received  for  his 
public  services  more  than  8350,000.  His  wife  died 
before  him,  and  then  he  removed  to  New  York,  to  the 
residence  of  his  son-in-law,  Samuel  L.  Gouverneur,  where 
he  expired  at  the  age  of  seventy-three.  He  was  singu 
larly  discreet,  single-minded,  and  patriotic,  and  did  more 
than  any  of  his  predecessors  to  develop  the  resources  of 
the  Republic.  He  was  tall,  well-proportioned,  of  fair 
complexion  and  blue  eyes,  and  his  face  was  a  reflection 
of  his  pure  and  benevolent  nature. 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS. 

John  Quincy  Adams  is  the  only  instance  in  the  Repub 
lic  of  a  son  succeeding  his  father  as  President ;  he  being 
the  sixth  and  John  Adams  the  second.  As  the  eldest 
son,  he  had  rare  and  exceptional  opportunities  for  edu 
cation.  In  childhood  he  was  taught  by  his  mother,  a 
grand-daughter  of  Col.  John  Quincy,  and  a  woman  of 
superior  mind.  When  but  eleven,  he  went  to  France 
with  his  father,  and  attended  school  in  Paris,  making 
much  progress  in  the  native  language  and  other  studies. 
Two  years  later,  he  again  accompanied  his  father  to 
Europe,  and  took  a  course  at  the  University  of  Leyden. 
At  fourteen,  he  was  appointed  private  secretary  to  Francis 
Dana,  Minister  to  Russia,  remained  fourteen  months  in 


430  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

St.  Petersburg,  and  then  traveled  leisurely  through 
Scandinavia  and  Denmark  to  Holland,  where  he  resumed 
his  studies  at  the  Hague.  He  came  home  to  finish  his 
education  and  was  graduated  at  Harvard  in  his  twenty- 
first  year.  Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1791,  he  began  to 
practice  in  Boston.  His  first  publications  were  a  number 
of  essays  in  journals  of  that  city,  pointing  out  the  whim- 
seys  and  sophistries  of  radical  French  politicians,  and 
declaring  that  the  country  should  be  strictly  neutral  in 
the  war  between  France  and  England.  They  attracted 
wide  attention,  and  commended  him  to  Washington,  who 
appointed  him  Minister  to  Holland  in  1794,  having 
formed  a  most  elevated  opinion  of  his  character  and 
capacities.  At  thirty,  he  espoused  Louisa  Catherine 
Johnson,  a  daughter  of  Joshua  Johnson,  of  Maryland, 
then  Consul  at  London.  Ho  was  elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate  for  the  term  beginning  March,  1803,  and 
two  years  after  was  appointed  professor  $f  rhetoric  and 
belles-lettres  at  Harvard,  accepting  the  place  only  on 
condition  that  he  should  perform  his  senatorial  duties 
while  Congress  was  in  session.  He  offended  the  Feder 
alists,  with  whom  he  had  been  allied,  by  sustaining  Jef 
ferson's  embargo  act,  and  from  that  cause  went  over  to 
the  Democrats,  or  National  Republicans,  as  they  preferred 
to  call  themselves.  He  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate, 
being  unwilling  to  obey  the  will  of  the  Federalists, 
then  in  the  majority  of  Massachusetts,  and  angered  them 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS.  431 

greatly  by  accusing  some  of  their  leaders  of  having 
formed  a  plot  to  dissolve  the  Union,  and  set  up  a  North 
ern  Confederacy.  This  accusation  is  thought  to  have 
been  one  of  the  most  potent  causes  of  the  enmity  and 
suspicion  so  long  cherished  toward  New  England  by  the 
Southern  and  other  States. 

Adams  became  conspicuous  in  the  Senate  as  an  able 
debater  and  a  finished  scholar,  and  in  1809  was  sent  by 
Madison  to  Russia,  where  he  originated  the  friendly  feel 
ing  which  has  ever  since  been  maintained  between  that 
power  and  our  own.  In  1813,  he  was  one  of  the  com 
missioners  to  negotiate  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain  at 
Ghent,  and  performed  his  part  with  signal  ability. 
Going  to  England  in  a  ministerial  capacity  in  1815,  he 
stayed  there  for  two  years,  when  he  returned  to  fill  the 
office  of  Secretary  of  State,  under  Monroe.  He  dis 
charged  its  duties  as  satisfactorily  as  he  had  those  of 
diplomacy.  In  1824,  Adams,  Jackson,  Crawford,  and 
Clay,  all  substantially  having  the  same  politics,  that  of 
the  Democrats,  were  candidates  for  the  Presidency. 
Adams  received  eighty-four  electoral  votes,  Jackson 
ninety-nine,  Crawford  forty-one,  and  Clay  thirty-seven, 
which  rendered  it  necessary  for  the  House  of  Represent 
atives  to  decide  the  question.  Clay  threw  all  his  influ 
ence  in  favor  of  Adams,  and  secured  his  choice.  As  the 
President  appointed  Clay  Secretary  of  State,  Jackson 

and  his  supporters  charged  the  Kentuckian  with  corrupt 
18 


432  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

motives,  and  imputed  to  the  President  a  lack  of  integ 
rity.  Although  there  is  no  good  reason  for  believing 
those  charges,  they  probably  had  much  weight  in  defeat 
ing  him  for  a  second  term,  when  he  received  only  eighty- 
three  votes  out  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-one.  Adams 
favored  internal  improvements,  the  protection  of  home 
manufactures,  and  was  principled  against  removing  men 
from  office  merely  for  difference  of  political  views. 
March  4,  1829,  he  retired  to  Quincy,  Mass.,  formerly 
called  Braintree,  where  he  had  been  born  July  11,  1767, 
nearly  sixty-two  years  before.  The  next  year  he  was 
sent  to  Congress,  to  the  surprise  of  everybody,  because 
previous  Presidents  had  never  been  willing  to  return  to 
Washington  in  any  political  capacity.  He  continued  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  for  seventeen  years,  show 
ing  more  ability  and  gaining  more  reputation  than  ever 
before.  He  was  generally  regarded  as  a  model  legislator, 
no  one  surpassing  him  in  application  and  powers  of 
endurance,  not  to  speak  of  talents  and  learning.  While 
he  generally  sided  with  the  Whigs,  he  was  independent 
in  his  opinions  and  conduct.  He  won  most  renown  by  his 
defense  of  the  right  of  petition  and  his  unyielding  oppo 
sition  to  what  he  denounced  as  the  constant  encroach 
ments  of  the  slave  power.  Although  the  House  had 
adopted  a  rule  that  no  petition  bearing  on  slavery  should 
be  read,  printed  or  debated,  Adams  persisted  in  present 
ing  sucli  petitions,  one  by  one,  sometimes  to  the  number 


LIVES   OP   THE   PRESIDENTS.  433 

of  two  hundred  in  a  day,  and  demanding  action  on  each 
separate  petition.  The  most  violent  anger,  menace,  and 
abuse  from  the  Southerners  never  moved  him  from  his 
conscientious  course,  and  his  coolness,  under  the  circum 
stances,  only  added  to  and  intensified  their  vituperative 
wrath.  He  died  at  his  post  of  an  attack  of  paralysis, 
February  23, 1848,  aged  eighty,  his  last  words  being,  "  I 
am  content." 

John  Quincy  Adams  was  more  scholarly  than  his 
father,  but  not  his  equal  in  native  force  of  intellect.  He 
wrote  fluently  and  copiously,  but  his  style  was  verbose 
and  inflated,  wholly  inferior  to  John  Adams's  simple, 
strong,  idiomatic  English.  They  were  Unitarians  ;  they 
resembled  one  another  in  appearance  as  well  as  in  energy, 
firmness,  and  unwavering  courage,  and  both  had  passion 
ate  tempers  and  hot  prejudices.  They  were  eminently 
representatives  of  New  England,  and  despite  their  faults, 
many  though  not  grievous,  they  were  of  sturdy  stuff  and 
an  honor  to  American  history. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


ANDREW  JACKSON,  MARTIN  VAN  BUREN,  AND 
.   WM.  HENRY  HARRISON,  SEVENTH,  EIGHTH, 
AND   NINTH   PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES. 

Jackson,  the  First  Unmixed  Democrat. — His  Election  Regarded  in 
Virginia  and  Massachusetts  with  Surprise  and  Disgust. — His  Un 
couth  and  Untaught  Youth. — His  Chivalrous  Delicacy  Toward 
Women. — His  Morbid  Sensibility  about  his  Wife's  Reputation. — His 
Combats  with  Indians. — Various  Recounters  and  Duels. — The  Her 
mitage. — The  Seminole  War. — Battle  of  New  Orleans. — His  Deter 
mination  to  Hang  the  Nullifiers. — Honest,  Single-minded,  and  Pat 
riotic. — VanBurenas  Democrat  and  Free-soiler. — His  Contented  Old 
Age. — Harrison  as  an  Indian  Fighter. — The  Log  Cabin  Campaign. 

ANDREW   JACKSON. 

A  greater  difference  than  that  between  Andrew  Jack 
son  and  his  Presidential  predecessors  can  not  well  be  con 
ceived.  Washington,  Jefferson,  Madison,  Monroe,  and 
the  Adamses,  had  all  been  men  of  education,  refinement, 
breeding,  accustomed  to  good  society  and  polite  usages. 
Jackson  was  an  illiterate,  untrained,  rustic,  violent  man, 
whose  life,  spent  in  a  semi-civilized  region,  had  been 
marked  by  savage  personal  combats  and  many  disgrace 
ful  scenes.  His  choice  as  Chief  Executive  denotes  a 

(434) 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  435 

new  era  in  politics,  a  great  change  in  public  sentiment. 
It  is  easy  to  understand  with  what  surprise,  pain,  and 
disgust  the  gentlemen  of  Virginia  and  Massachusetts, 
the  two  States  that  exercised  the  most  influence  on  the 
young  Republic,  must  have  regarded  the  election  to  the 
Presidency  of  a  military  chieftain,  backwoodsman,  cock- 
fighter,  and  tyrant,  who  had  never  shown  respect  for  law, 
or  recognized  any  authority  but  his  despotic  will.  Jack 
son  was,  indeed,  the  first  unmixed  Democrat,  politically 
and  socially,  that  had  been  placed  in  the  highest  position 
of  trust  and  power.  It  was  the  beginning  of  an  epochr 
which  opened  a  new  volume  of  the  national  history. 

Andrew  Jackson,  the  seventh  President,  was  of  Scotch- 
Irish  extraction,  and  born  in  what  was  known  as  the 
Waxhaw  Settlement,  N.  C.,  so  near  the  line  that  he 
always  supposed  himself  a  native  of  South  Carolina.  He 
bore  the  full  name  of  his  father,  a  very  poor  man  who 
came  to  this  country  in  1765,  and  never  struggled  out  of 
penury.  His  mother,  Elizabeth  Hutchinson,  of  very 
humble  origin,  brought  him  into  the  world  some  days 
after  his  father's  death,  under  very  hard  and  most 
depressing  circumstances.  He  was  the  youngest  of  three 
boys,  whom  their  mother  reared  as  best  she  could,  in  a 
common  cabin  in  which  she  lived  with  her  brother-in- 
law,  doing  the  hard  work  of  the  house,  while  his  wife, 
her  sister,  was  incapacitated  from  labor  by  permanent 
invalidism.  Andrew,  or  Andy,  as  he  was  commonly 
called,  greatly  loved  and  revered  his  mother,  who  died 


436  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

when  he  was  a  youth,  leaving  him  literally  alone  in  the 
world,  and  a  very  hard  part  of  the  world  in  those  days, 
was  the  Waxhaw  Settlement.  He  mourned  her  deeply, 
and  in  after  life  often  referred  tenderly  to  hqr  virtues. 
One  of  his  best  traits  was  his  inherent  and  unvarying 
respect  for  women,  toward  whom  he  ever  conducted  him 
self  with  chivalrous  delicacy,  not  to  be  expected  in  a  man 
of  such  antecedents,  and  of  so  impetuous  and  turbulent 
a  disposition.  He  grew  up  wild,  homely,  awkward,  pro 
fane,  quarrelsome,  overbearing,  fond  of  physical  exercise, 
and  with  no  more  instruction  than  enabled  him  to  read, 
write  a  very  indifferent  hand — he  never  learned  to  spell, 
— and  master  rudimentary  arithmetic. 

Jackson  was  only  fourteen  when  he  first  fought  against 
the  British.  His  elder  brother  Hugh  had  already  died  of 
heat  and  exhaustion  at  the  battle  of  Stono,  having  gone 
forth  in  a  company  of  volunteers  to  attack  Tarleton. 
Andrew  and  Robert,  his  other  brother,  were  zealous 
Whigs,  and  having  been  taken  prisoners  by  the  enemy, 
were  both  seriously  wounded  by  a  brutal  English  officer, 
whose  boots  they  had  refused  to  clean.  They  caught  the 
small-pox  while  in  captivity,  and  were  exchanged  by  the 
exertions  of  their  mother,  who  took  them  home,  where 
Robert  died  of  the  disease.  She  soon  after  went  to 
Charleston,  to  take  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  Amer 
icans,  and  fell  a  victim  to  ship-fever.  Andrew,  com 
pelled  literally  to  earn  his  bread,  worked  in  a  saddler's 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  437 

shop,  and  taught  school,  which  must  have  been  of  a 
queer  sort,  if  he  could  teach  it.  At  seventeen,  he  began 
the  study  of  law  at  Salisbury,  N.  C.,  but  was  more  inter 
ested  in  cock-fighting,  horse-racing,  card-playing,  and  all 
rude  sports,  than  in  his  studies.  He  was  called  a  very 
hard  case,  though  he  had  many  redeeming  traits,  chief 
among  them  being  hatred  of  oppression  arid  love  of 
justice.  At  twenty,  he  was  licensed  to  practice,  and  the 
next  year  was  appointed  public  prosecutor  of  the  western 
district  of  the  State,  now  Tennessee.  He  went  to  Nash 
ville  immediately,  and  entered  upon  his  duties,  gaining 
many  clients,  and  serving  them  faithfully.  That  was  a 
wild  region  then,  and  his  constant  travel  was  done  at  the 
risk  of  his  life.  But  he  feared  neither  Indians  nor  any 
thing  else,  and  he  had  so  many  narrow  escapes  that  his 
rude  neighbors  thought  him  danger-proof. 

At  twenty-four,  he  took  for  wife  Mrs.  Rachel  Rob- 
ards,  daughter  of  Col.  John  Donelson,  of  Virginia,  one 
of  the  pioneers  of  Tennessee,  after  whom  was  named 
Fort  Donelson,  captured  by  General  Grant  the  second 
year  of  the  Civil  War.  Mrs.  Robards  and  her  first  hus 
band  were  boarding  with  Mrs.  Donelson,  then  a  widow, 
when  Jackson  reached  Tennessee,  and  became  a  boarder 
under  the  same  roof.  Mrs.  Robards  was,  in  a  frontier 
way,  vivacious  and  sportive,  a  rattling  talker  and  a  fine 
rider.  Her  husband,  suspicious  and  morose,  was  very 
jealous  of  lier,  and  made  her  very  unhappy.  Jackson 


438  LIVES   OP   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

was  fond  of  her  society,  though  he  in  no  manner  passed 
the  boundaries  of  the  most  conventional  decorum.  Her 
husband  believed,  or  pretended  to  believe,  that  he  was 
his  wife's  lover,  and  applied  to  the  Virginia  Legislature 
for  an  act  preliminary  to  divorce.  Jackson  and  Mrs. 
Robards  supposed  the  act  itself  a  divorce,  and  they  were 
married  two  years  before  divorce  had  been  allowed. 
This  innocent  mistake  (they  were  married  again  when  it 
was  discovered)  was  the  source  of  endless  annoyance 
and  sorrow  to  the  second  husband,  who,  to  the  day  of 
his  death,  was  so  sensitive  and  fiery  on  the  subject  that, 
if  any  man  hinted  at  any  impropriety  in  their  relations, 
he  was  certain  to  be  called  to  account  by  Jackson,  pistol 
in  hand.  Indeed,  he  was  little  less  than  a  monomaniac 
in  regard  to  his  wife.  Several  of  his  most  savage  con 
flicts  grew,  directly  or  indirectly,  out  of  what  he  believed 
or  imagined  to  be  reflections  on  her  fair  fame.  If  ever 
a  man  was  connubially  mad,  that  man  was  Andrew 
Jackson.  Mrs.  Robards  was  an  honest  and  worthy, 
though  an  uneducated  and  very  ordinary  sort  of  woman  ; 
but  he  fancied  her  to  be  a  goddess,  an  angel,  a  saint,  a 
creature  entirely  apart  and  above  humanity,  and  he 
wanted  to  kill  anybody  who  dared  express  any  other 
opinion. 

Much  of  Jackson's  early  life  in  Tennessee  was  spent 
in  fighting  the  Indians  and  his  private  enemies,  of  whom 
he  always  had  a  host.  He  was  one  of  the  most  irascible 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  439 

and  pugnacious  of  mortals,  and  his  ire,  aroused  by  the 
slightest  cause,  was  de'adly.  Possessed  of  many  gener 
ous  and  noble  qualities,  he  was  often  in  his  resentments 
no  better  than  a  barbarian.  When  he  was  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  supreme  court  of  Tennessee,  John  Sevier 
was  governor.  They  had  quarreled,  and  Jackson  had 
challenged  the  governor  who  had  declined  the  challenge. 
Still  on  bad  terms,  they  met  one  day  in  the  streets  of 
Knoxville,  and  after  exchanging  a  few  words,  Sevier 
made  some  slighting  allusion  to  Mrs.  Jackson.  Her 
husband  roared  out,  "  Do  you  dare,  villain,  to  mention 
her  sacred  name  ?  "  And  whipping  out  a  pistol,  fired  at 
the  governor,  who  returned  the  shot.  They  fired  again, 
ineffectually,  and  then  bystanders  interfered.  Not  long 
after,  they  encountered  one  another  on  horseback  on  the 
road,  each  accompanied  by  a  friend.  Again  they  shot  at 
one  another,  the  friends  taking  part,  and  murder  would 
have  been  done,  had  not  some  travelers,  who  had  chanced 
to  come  up,  separated  the  combatants.  Jackson  had 
the  reputation  of  being  a  dead  shot ;  but  he  frequently 
missed  his  man-  owing  doubtless  to  the  excitement  of  the 
occasion. 

A  friend  of  Jackson,  William  Carroll,  having  chal 
lenged  Jesse  Benton,  a  younger  brother  of  Thomas  H. 
Benton,  Jackson  was  induced  to  act  as  his  second.  The 
principals  were  wounded,  Benton  seriously,  which  angered 
the  elder  Benton,  because  he  thought  Jackson  under 


440  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

obligations  to  him,  and  prompted  him  to  say  such  things 
as  a  choleric  man  is  apt  to  say  of  anybody  who  has 
offended  him.  The  abusive  remarks  were  repeated  to 
Jackson,  and  he,  in  one  of  his  customary  bursts  of  pas 
sion  and  profanity,  declared  that  he  would  horsewhip 
Benton  the  first  time  he  should  see  him.  Hearing,  a 
few  weeks  after,  that  his  foe  was  at  the  City  Hotel  in 
Nashville,  he  sought  him  there  in  the  company  of  a 
friend.  Armed  with  pistols  and  a  small  sword,  he 
advanced  with  a  whip  in  his  hand,  on  Benton,  who  was 
standing  at  the  front  door,  very  near  his  brother  Jesse. 
"  I'm  going  to  punish  you,  you  blank — blank  villain,"  he 
cried ;  "  defend  yourself."  Thomas  Benton  made  as  if 
to  draw  a  weapon;  his  adversary  pulled  a  pistol,  and 
leveled  it  at  his  breast.  Benton  retreated  slowly  through 
the  hall,  followed  closely  by  Jackson,  when  Jesse  Benton 
fired  at  the  latter  and  shattered  his  arm  and  shoulder. 
Lying  helpless  and  bleeding  on  the  floor,  his  friend  dis 
charged  a  pistol  at  Thomas  Benton,  and  finding  he  had 
missed  him,  hurried  forward,  and  was  about  to  strike 
him  with  the  butt,  when  Benton  stumbled  and  fell  to  the 
bottom  of  some  stairs  he  had  not  observed  at  the  end  of 
the  hall.  While  Jackson's  friend  was  looking  after  him, 
his  nephew  attacked  Jesse  Benton  with  a  bowie-knife, 
and  the  two  had  a  savage  and  bloody  encounter  until 
they  were  pulled  apart.  This  was  not  an  uncommon 
scene  in  the  Southwest  in  those  days;  nor  would  it  be 


LIVES   OP   THE   PRESIDENTS.  441 

very  uncommon  there  now.  Jackson  was  then  forty- 
seven  ;  had  been  a  member  of  Congress,  as  United  States 
Senator,  and  was  at  the  time  a  Major-General  of  militia. 
One  of  the  most  tragical  of  his  experiences  was  his 
duel,  some  years  before,  with  Charles  Dickinson,  who 
had  committed  the  unpardonable  sin  of  commenting 
freely  on  Mrs.  Jackson.  They  had  several  disagree 
ments,  and  Jackson  finally  spoke  of  Dickinson  in  so 
violent  a  manner  that  his  language  was  repeated,  as  the 
General  wished  it  should  be,  to  the  man  himself.  There 
upon,  Dickinson,  who  was  about  to  start  for  New 
Orleans  on  a  flat  boat,  wrote  Jackson  a  letter,  denouncing 
him  as  a  liar  and  a  coward.  On  his  return,  Jackson 
challenged  him,  and  they  met  on  the  banks  of  the  Red 
River  in  Logan  County,  Ky.,  early  in  the  morning  of 
May  30,  1806.  Dickinson  got  first  fire,  breaking  a  rib, 
and  making  a  serious  wound  in  the  breast  of  his  oppon 
ent,  who  showed  no  sign  of  having  been  hit.  He  had 
felt  sure  of  killing  his  antagonist,  and  exclaimed,  "  Great 
God,  have  I  missed  him  ?"  Jackson,  taking  deliberate  aim, 
pulled  the  trigger ;  but  the  weapon  did  not  explode.  It 
stopped  at  half-cock.  He  cocked  it  fully,  and  again  calmly 
and  carefully  leveling  it,  fired.  The  bullet  passed  through 
Dickinson's  body,  just  above  the  hips :  he  fell,  and  died 
that  night  after  suffering  terrible  agony.  Jackson  never 
recovered  from  the  hurt,  and  never  expressed  the  least 
remorse  for  what  many  persons  pronounced  a  cold-blooded 


442  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

murder.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  had  made  up  his 
mind  to  kill  Dickinson.  Any  man  who  had  spoken  dis 
creditably  of  Mrs.  Jackson  had,  in  his  opinion,  forfeited 
the  right  to  live. 

Not  long  after  his  marriage,  Jackson  removed  from 
Nashville  to  a  farm,  some  thirteen  miles  distant,  which 
he  named  the  Hermitage,  where  he  died  in  his  seventy- 
ninth  year.  He  lived  in  a  spacious  home,  and  had  for  a 
store  a  block  house,  where  he  sold  goods  to  the  Indians, 
and  the  settlers  in  the  neighborhood.  He  did  a  profitable 
business — his  assistant  transacted  most  of  it — frequently 
sending  corn,  tobacco,  and  cotton,  which  he  raised  on  his 
land,  with  the  assistance  of  his  slaves,  to  the  New  Or 
leans  market.  He  had  no  abhorrence  of  slavery,  though 
he  was  always  a  kind  and  considerate  master.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Convention  that  framed  the  Constitution  of 
Tennessee  in  1796,  and  was  elected  to  Congress  from  the 
new  State,  then  entitled  to  only  one  Representative.  The 
next  year,  he  was  sent  to  the  National  Senate,  but  soon 
resigned  his  seat.  He  acted  as  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  for  eight  years.  He  enlisted  in  the  war  of  1812  ; 
defeated  the  Creek  Indians,  acquiring  great  popularity 
thereby,  and  was  made  a  Major-General  in  the  regular 
army.  His  victory  at  New  Orleans  gave  him  a  great  rep 
utation,  and  rendered  him  an  idol  of  the  people  of  the 
Southwest. 

In  1817-18,  he  carried  on  prosperous  war  against  the 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  443 

Seminolcs  in  Florida,  seized  Pensacola  without  authority, 
as  was  his  wont,  and  hanged  two  British  subjects  for  in 
citing  the  Indians  to  hostile  acts.  It  was  a  great  sur 
prise  to  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States  when  he  received 
the  largest  number  of  votes  of  any  one  of  the  four  can 
didates  for  the  Presidency  in  1824.  After  Adams  had 
been  chosen  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  Jackson 
seemed  to  have  permanently  withdrawn  to  the  Hermitage ; 
but  all  the  opponents  of  Adams  supported  him  in  the 
next  campaign,  which  was  the  most  bitter  ever  known  in 
the  country,  and  he  was  triumphantly  elected.  His  two 
terms  were  stormy  enough.  His  veto  of  the  bill  granting 
a  new  charter  to  the  United  States  Bank  created  great 
excitement,  and  his  removal  of  the  public  deposits  cre 
ated  still  more.  His  proclamation  against  the  nullifiers 
of  South  Carolina  was  electric  in  its  effect,  and  that  he 
would  have  hanged  them,  as  he  afterward  said,  if  he  had 
had  caune  to,  is  altogether  probable.  While  he  was  with 
many  one  of  the  most  detested  Presidents  that  have  sat 
in  the  executive  chair,  he  was  extremely  popular  with  the 
masses.  Nor  can  it  be  denied  that  most  of  the  acts  for 
which  he  was  once  savagely  denounced  have  come  to  be 
generally  approved.  He  was  narrow,  ignorant,  overflow 
ing  with  passion  and  prejudice  ;  but  he  was1,  nevertheless, 
honest,  single-minded,  and,  according  to  his  light,  a  true 
and  conscientious  patriot. 


444  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

MARTIN   VAN   BUREN. 

Martin  Yan  Buren,  the  eighth  President,  largely  owed 
his  office  to  the  friendship  and  influence  of  General  Jack- 
son,  with  whom  he  had  made  himself  a  particular  favorite. 
Born  at  Kinderhook,  N.  Y.,  December  5,  1782,  he  died 
near  there  in  his  eightieth  year.  Educated  at  the  local 
academy,  he  studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  by 
the  time  he  was  nineteen.  He  began  very  early  to  take 
part  in  politics  as  a  Democrat,  and  at  thirty  was  elected 
to  the  State  Senate.  He  favored  the  war  of  1812,  and 
was  made  Attorney-General  of  New  York.  He  was  the 
ruling  spirit  of  the  Albany  Regency,  formed  to  oppose 
De  Witt  Clinton,  which  controlled  the  State  politically 
for  twenty  years.  Having  been  twice  chosen  United 
States  Senator,  he  resigned  his  position  to  enter  the 
Cabinet  of  Jackson.  He  was  nominated  Minister  to  Eng 
land,  and  went  there ;  but  his  nomination  was  rejected 
by  the  Senate,  in  which  the  Whigs — the  name  taken  dur 
ing  the  previous  administration  by  the  opponents  of  Jack 
son — had  then  a  majority.  To  indemnify  him  for  this 
mortification,  the  Democrats  made  him  Yice-President 
during  Jackson's  second  term.  At  its  termination,  Van 
Buren  was  put  forward  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency 
against  Harrison,  a  Whig,  and  was  easily  elected.  The 
year  after — 1837 — there  was  a  great  financial  panic,  with 
an  extraordinary  commercial  depression,  and  in  May  of 
that  year  all  the  banks  in  the  country  suspended  specie 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  445 

payment.  Van  Buren,  in  his  message,  recommended  an 
independent  treasury,  which  was  established  by  law  in 
1840.  All  his  political  friends  voted  for  the  resolution 
that  Congress  should  lay  all  petitions  for  the  abolition  of 
slavery  on  the  table  without  reading,  a  resolution  which, 
as  has  been  seen,  John  Quincy  Adams  gallantly  defied. 
In  1840  he  was  renominated  against  his  former  com 
petitor  Harrison ;  but  he  was  so  assailed  by  the  Whig 
newspapers  and  orators  as  responsible  for  the  commercial 
prostration  and  monetary  distress  incident  to  his  term  of 
office,  and  so  charged  with  extravagance,  corruption,  and 
indifference  to  the  condition  of  the  laboring  classes,  that, 
rendered  odious  to  the  masses,  he  was  overwhelmingly 
defeated.  In  1844  his  name  was  again  presented,  and  a 
majority  of  the  delegates  of  the  convention,  held  at  Bal 
timore,  were  for  him.  But  the  Southerners  opposed  him, 
because  he  had  expressed  himself  adversely  to  the  annex 
ation  of  Texas,  and  by  making  a  vote  of  two-thirds 
necessary  to  a  choice,  defeated  his  prospects.  He  subse 
quently  became  a  free  Democrat,  or  Free-Soiler.  After 
1848,  he  returned  to  private  life  on  his  estate  at  Linden- 
wald,  near  Kinderhook,  enjoying  leisure,  wealth,  and  a 
contented  old  age.  Long  before  his  death,  the  prejudice 
that  had  been  excited  by  party  politics  wore  away,  and 
he  was  seen  in  his  true  character.  He  was  an  amiable 
and  accomplished  gentleman,  and  his  domestic  relations 
were  very  happy.  His  son  John,  a  brilliant  lawyer  in 
New  York  city,  survived  his  father  but  four  years. 


446  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON. 

The  administration  of  William  Henry  Harrison,  the 
successor  of  Martin  Van  Buren,  and  ninth  President,  was 
the  briefest  in  the  history  of  the  country.  It  lasted  ex 
actly  one  month,  from  the  4th  of  March,  1841,  when  he 
was  inaugurated,  to  the  4th  of  April,  when  he  died,  after 
a  week's  illness,  supposed  to  have  been  brought  on  by 
the  excitement  and  fatigue  of  the  campaign  and  the 
inauguration.  He  was  older — being  sixty-eight — than 
any  man  who  has  been  called  to  the  Executive  office,  and 
possibly  on  this  account  less  able  to  bear  the  strain. 

Harrison  was  born  in  Berkeley,  Charles  City  County, 
Virginia,  February  9,  1773,  and  died  in  Washington. 
His  father  was  Governor  Benjamin  Harrison,  and  his 
family  enjoyed  good  social  position.  He  entered  the 
army  some  time  before  his  majority,  and  rose  in  time 
from  Ensign  to  Major-General.  His  most  important 
campaigns  were  against  the  Indians,  whom  he  managed 
so  well  that,  in  treating  with  different  tribes  at  different 
times,  he  obtained  from  them  very  important  concessions 
of  land.  It  was  during  his  Indian  fighting  that  the  suc 
cessful  defense  of  his  camp  at  Tippecanoe  gave  him  that 
nick-name.  He  took  a  creditable  part  in  the  short  War  of 
1812  with  England  ;  and,  after  it,  went  into  an  honorable 
retirement  for  a  time  at  North  Bend,  Ohio,  where  he  had 
a  farm.  He  was  sent  to  Congress  in  1816  ;  after  a  few 
years,  to  the  Senate  ;  and  was  appointed  by  John  Quincy 


MVES   OF   THE  PRESIDENTS.  447 

Adams,  Minister  to  Colombia.  He  was  quickly  recalled 
upon  Jackson's  inauguration,  and  remained  in  private 
life  until  he  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency  in  1836, 
in  opposition  to  Martin  Van  Buren.  He  was  defeated, 
but  renominated  in  1840.  The  military  element  having 
been  introduced  into  politics  by  General  Jackson's  elec 
tion,  it  was  thought  that  a  second  attempt,  with  a  good 
military  record,  would  be  more  certain  than  the  first  had 
been  to  defeat  Van  Buren.  Harrison,  was,  therefore, 
again  put  forward,  with  John  Tyler  of  Virginia  for  Vice- 
President,  and  the  ticket  polled  a  very  large  and  success 
ful  vote.  The  methods  of  conducting  political  cam 
paigns  had  greatly  changed  during  this  period — mass 
meetings,  torch-light  processions,  and  manufactured 
enthusiasm  becoming  the  order  of  the  day.  The  oppo 
sition  had  cast  it  as  a  slur  upon  Harrison  that  he  had  at 
some  time  lived  in  a  log-cabin,  and  had  only  hard  cider 
to  drink.  It  was  stupid  and  silly ;  for  what  a  man  is, 
not  where  he  has  lived,  is  the  important  thing  in  this 
country ;  and  the  Whigs  quickly  caught  the  words,  and 
used  "log-cabin"  and  "hard  cider"  with  excellent  effect. 
Harrison  was  a  man  of  pleasing  address,  agreeable  man 
ners,  and  a  thorough  gentleman. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 


JOHN  TYLER  AND  JAMES  K.  POLK,  TENTH  AND 
ELEVENTH  PRESIDENTS  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES. 

Tyler  the  First  Vice-President  to  Succeed  the  Chief  Executive  by 
Death. — A  Representative  of  the  Same  Social  Class  as  Jefferson, 
Madison,  and  Monroe.— Education  and  Wealth  Really  Disadvan 
tageous  to  Him. — A  Career  of  Continuous  Vetoes. — Making  Himself 
Extremely  Unpopular. — Forcing  His  Cabinet  to  Resign.— The 
Annexation  of  Texas  a  Favorite  Scheme. — A  Member  of  the  Peace 
Convention  in  1861. — A  Former  Chief  Magistrate  in  Open  Rebellion 
Against  the  Government. — Polk  and  the  Mexican  "War. — A  Common 
place  President. 

JOHN   TYLER. 

Upon  the  death  of  President  Harrison,  Yice-President 
Tyler  succeeded  to  the  office,  and  was  the  first  of  the  four 
Vice-Presidents  who  have  become  President  .on  the  death 
of  the  elected  Executive.  By  an  odd  coincidence,  he 
was  born  in  the  same  county — Charles  City — in  Virginia, 
which  gave  birth  to  Harrison,  though  the  latter  so  early 
made  his  home  in  Ohio  that  he  is  commonly  reported  as 
an  Ohioan.  Tyler  was  much  younger  than  Harrison, 
having  been  born  March  29,  1790,  and  was  the  second 

son  of  John  Tyler,  a  distinguished  revolutionary  patriot. 

(448) 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  449 

He  belonged  to  the  same  social  class  with  Jefferson, 
Madison,  and  Monroe,  but  was  a  man  of  very  different 
caliber.  He  was  narrow-minded  where  they  were  broad, 
bigoted  where  they  were  liberal,  reactionary  in  his  politi 
cal  principles  where  they  were  progressive,  and  was 
indeed,  what  has  recently  been  considered  a  typical 
Southerner  rather  than  a  typical  American.  In  his 
youth  he  had  all  the  advantages  of  education  and  wealth  ; 
but,  to  a  man  of  his  turn  of  mind,  they  were  really  dis 
advantages. 

Tyler  held  many  offices,  beginning  with  the  Virginia 
Legislature,  passing  on  to  the  House  of  Representatives 
in  Washington,  and  thence  to  the  Senate,  before  being 
nominated  to  the  Vice-Presidency.  In  the  Senate  he 
succeeded  the  famous  John  Randolph,  and  while  there 
began  his  well-known  career  of  opposition  to  progress 
which  resulted  in  continual  Presidential  vetoes  during 
his  administration.  As  Senator,  he  voted  against  all 
efforts  toward  internal  improvements  by  the  general  gov 
ernment,  against  various  tariff  bills,  and  against  many 
things  which  showed  an  enlightened  public  spirit.  He 
made  himself  very  unpopular,  but  was  finally  nominated 
for  the  Vice-Presidency,  in  order  to  draw  the  Southern 
vote  to  Harrison,  with  whose  nomination  the  South  was 
much  dissatisfied,  having  preferred  Henry  Clay.  Tyler 
was  then  acting  with  the  Whig  party,  but  soon  after  his 
accession  to  the  Presidency  he  began  to  offend  his  party 
by  his  ill-considered  acts,  and  speedily  forced  all  his  cab- 


450  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

inet  except  Daniel  Webster,  the  Secretary  of  State,  to 
resign.  His  course  became  so  unsatisfactory  during  the 
second  year  of  his  administration  that  the  Whig  mem 
bers  of  Congress  felt  called  upon  to  publicly  declare 
themselves  as  entirely  at  odds  with  the  President,  and 
no  longer  his  adherents. 

The  annexation  of  Texas  occurred  during  President 
Tyler's  administration,  and  was  a  scheme  much  favored 
by  him.  It  was  only  successfully  carried,  however,  with 
the  aid  of  the  Democrats  in  Congress,  whose  influence 
Tyler  continually  sought,  after  antagonizing  his  own 
party. 

Although  Tyler  accepted  a  renomination  from  a  con 
vention  composed  mainly  of  office-holders,  held  in  May, 
1844,  it  soon  became  evident,  even  to  him.  that  he  would 
certainly  be  ignominiously  beaten  ;  consequently  he  with 
drew  his  name  from  the  candidacy.  He  was  the  first 
President  to  express  himself  actively  in  favor  of  slavery, 
and  everything  which  looked  toward  a  limitation  of  the 
"  institution "  aroused  his  most  violent  opposition.  In 
1861,  he  was  a  member  of  the  "  Peace  Convention,"  held 
in  Washington,  in  the  futile  hope  of  arranging  the  diffi 
culties  between  the  seceded  States  and  the  National 
Government.  The  convention  being  without  result,  he 
threw  in  his  fortunes  with  the  Confederacy,  and  presented 
the  humiliating  spectacle  of  a  former  Chief  Magistrate 
in  open  Rebellion  against  the  Government  of  which  he 
had  once  been  the  head. 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  451 

Tyler  was  twice  married,  and  was  the  father  of  several 
children.  He  died  on  January  17,  1862,  at  Richmond, 
Virginia,  while  a  member  of  the  Confederate  Congress. 

JAMES    K.  POLK. 

James  Knox  Polk,  the  eleventh  President,  was  born 
in  Mecklenburg  County,  North  Carolina,  November  12, 
1795.  He  did  not,  like  the  Virginia  Presidents,  spring 
from  the  wealthy  and  cultured  class,  but  was  the  son  of 
a  farmer  in  very  moderate  circumstances,  who  removed 
in  1806  to  Tennessee.  His  early  education  was  very 
limited  ;  but  he  managed  to  prepare  himself  for  college, 
and  was  graduated  in  1818  from  the  University  of  North 
Carolina.  He  began  to  practise  at  the  bar  in  1820  ;  was 
elected  to  the  State  Legislature  in  1823 ;  was  sent  to 
Congress  in  1825,  where  he  was  strongly  opposed  to 
President  John  Quincy  Adams'  administration.  Later 
•lie  became  ardently  devoted  to  General  Jackson,  and 
remained  a  most  earnest  Democrat  during  his  life.  In 
1835,  Polk  was  elected  Speaker  of  the  House.  After 
being  in  Congress  fourteen  years,  he  declined  a  renom- 
ination,  and  retired  to  Tennessee,  only  to  be  immediately 
made  Governor  of  the  State.  In  May,  1844,  the  National 
Democratic  Convention  nominated  him  for  President, 
with  George  M.  Dallas  of  Pennsylvania  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent.  The  Whig  candidates  were  Henry  Clay  and  The- 
dore  Frelinghuysen.  Polk  and  Dallas  were  successful, 
and  entered  office  March  4, 1845.  The  annexation  of 


452  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

Texas  had  just  been  advised  by  President  Tyler,  and  it 
became  the  most  important  effort  of  President  Polk's 
administration  to  defend  the  frontier  of  our  new  posses 
sion.  He  sent  General  Taylor  with  a  small  force  to 
occupy  the  disputed  land  between  the  Nueces  river, 
which  Mexico  claimed  as  the  boundary,  and  the  Rio 
Grande,  which  the  Government  claimed  as  the  boundary. 
In  April,  1846,  active  fighting  began  between  General 
Taylor  and  General  Arista,  the  Mexican  commander. 
The  President  then  declared  that  war  existed,  and  asked 
Congress  for  men  and  money.  Authority  was  given  to 
call  for  fifty  thousand  men,  and  $10,000,000.  Although 
the  war  was  generally  unpopular  at  the  North,  it  was 
prosecuted  with  energy,  our  forces  even  penetrating  to 
the  very  capital  of  Mexico.  Mexico  ended  by  ceding  all 
that  was  demanded  of  her,  yielding  upper  California  and 
New  Mexico,  and  granting  the  Rio  Grande  from  its 
mouth  to  El  Paso,  as  the  southern  boundary  of  Texas. 
Beside  the  Mexican  war,  the  important  events  of  Polk's 
administration  were  certain  modifications  of  the  tariff, 
the  creation  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  the  admis 
sion  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin,  and  the  very  important 
event  of  establishing  the  National  Treasury  system  in 
Washington,  independent  of  all  the  State  banks. 

Having  agreed  not  to  seek  a  renomination,  President 
Polk  retired  from  office  March  4, 1849,  and  three  months 
later  died,  after  a  few  days'  illness,  at  his  home  in 
Nashville. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 


ZACHARY  TAYLOR,,  MILLARD  FILLMORE,  AND 
FRANKLIN  PIERCE,  TWELFTH,  THIRTEENTH, 
AND  FOURTEENTH  PRESIDENTS  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES. 

Taylor  purely  a  Military  Man. — His  Reputation  made  in  the  Mexican 
War.— His  Death  in  Four  Months.— His  Disqualifications  for  Politi 
cal  Life. — Fillraore's  Early  Success. — His  Foreshadowing  of  the 
National  Banking  System. — Approval  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law. — 
The  Irreparable  Injury  it  did  Him. — A  Candidate  of  the  American 
Party. —Pierce  a  Northern  Man  with  Extreme  Southern  Principles. 
— His  constant  Sympathy  with  and  Sustainment  of  Slavery. — His 
Gallantry  in  the  Field. — Retirement  to  Private  Life  Equivalent  to 
Extinction. 

The  twelfth  President,  General  Zachary  Taylor,  was 
the  last  of  the  Presidents  born  in  Virginia.  He  first 
saw  the  light  on  September  24,  1784,  in  Orange 
County,  from  which  his  father,  Colonel  Richard  Tay 
lor,  removed  to  the  neighborhood  of  Louisville,  Ken 
tucky,  in  1785.  Until  he  was  twenty-three,  Zachary 
remained  on  his  father's  plantation  ;  but  in  1808,  his 
elder  brother,  Hancock,  died  in  the  army,  and  the  com 
mission —  that  of  Lieutenant  —  which  he  held,  was 

(453) 


454  LIVES   OP   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

offered  to  Zachary.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  mili 
tary  career  which  lasted  nearly  all  his  life.  After  the 
declaration  of  war  against  Great  Britain  in  1812,  he 
being  then  a  Captain,  was  placed  in  command  of  Fort 
Harrison  on  the  Wabash  River,  not  far  from  Yincennes. 
This  was  furiously  attacked  at  night  by  the  Indians  ; 
but  Captain  Taylor,  with  a  handful  of  men,  two-thirds 
of  them  being  ill,  made  a  brilliant  and  successful 
defense,  and  received  as  his  reward  from  President 
Madison,  the  brevet  rank  of  Major  —  the  first  time 
a  brevet  rank  was  ever  conferred  in  our  army.  Having 
thus  established  his  military  reputation,  he  constantly 
held  important  commands  until  the  peace  in  1815, 
when,  for  a  brief  period,  he  resigned  his  commission, 
and  retired  to  private  life. 

He  was  soon  reappointed,  however,  and  took  con 
spicuous  part  in  the  Black  Hawk  War,  and  in  the 
conflicts  with  the  Indians  in  Florida  in  1836-37,  and  in 
1840  was  appointed  Commander  of  the  First  Depart 
ment  of  the  Southwest.  About  this  time  he  purchased 
an  estate  at  Baton  Rouge,  and  removed  his  family 
thereto.  In  July,  1845,  following  the  annexation  of 
Texas,  he  was  ordered  with  fifteen  hundred  troops  to 
defend  our  new  possession  against  invasion  by  Mexico. 
He  encamped  near  Corpus  Christi,  and  his  force  was 
soon  increased  to  four  thousand.  It  was  pretty  plainly 
indicated  to  General  Taylor  that  the  Government  would 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  455 

be  glad  to  have  him  throw  down  the  gauntlet  to  Mexico 
by  moving  into  the  disputed  territory.  Taylor,  how 
ever,  was  too  wise  to  commit  any  overt  act  until 
expressly  ordered  to  do  so  by  President  Polk.  Being 
positively  ordered  to  advance,  he  began  to  move  toward 
the  Rio  Grande  on  March  8,  1846,  and  on  the  28th, 
reached  the  bank  of  the  river  opposite  Matamoras.  On 
the  12th  of  April,  General  Anipudia,  in  command  of 
the  Mexican  forces  near  by,  sent  word  to  General 
Taylor  to  retire  to  the  Nueces  River,  while  the  boundary 
question  was  being  settled  by  the  respective  govern 
ments,  at  the  same  time  declaring  a  failure  to  comply 
with  the  advice  would  be  construed  as  a  declaration 
of  war  by  Mexico.  General  Taylor  replied  that  his 
instructions  did  not  permit  him  to  retire,  and  that 
if  the  Mexicans  chose  to  begin  hostilities,  he  was  pre 
pared.  Such  was  the  beginning  of  the  Mexican  War. 
On  the  8th  of  May,  the  battle  of  Palo  Alto,  the  first 
of  the  war,  was  won  by  General  Taylor ;  and  from  that 
day  until  his  return  home  in  November,  1847,  "  Old 
Rough  and  Ready,"  as  lie  was  called  by  his  soldiers, 
was  almost  uniformly  successful. 

In  June,  1848,  he  was  nominated  for  President  by  the 
Whigs,  upon  the  express  understanding  that  he  should 
be  unbound  by  pledges.  Millard  Fillmore  of  New  York 
was  nominated  for  Yice-President.  Although  the  nom 
ination  of  General  Taylor  was  quite  popular  among  the 

19 


456  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

people,  it  gave  considerable  offense  to  a  number  of  the 
northern  delegates,  arid  Henry  Wilson  and  some  others 
withdrew  from  the  convention  to  form  the  Free  Soil  party, 
the  basis  of  which  was  opposition  to  the  extension  of 
slavery.  The  Democrats  nominated  Lewis  Cass  ;  but  on 
account  of  his  known  pro-slavery  principles,  many  of  his 
party  refused  to  vote  for  him,  giving  their  suffrages  to 
the  Free  Soil  candidates,  Martin  Yan  Buren  and  Charles 
Francis  Adams.  General  Taylor  was,  however,  elected, 
and  was  inaugurated  on  Monday,  March  5, 1849. 

The  most  important  questions  of  his  administration 
concerned  the  admission  of  California  as  a  State,  the  or 
ganization  of  the  new  territories,  and  the  still  vexed 
boundaries  of  Texas  ;  the  vital  point  being  the  relation 
of  Slavery  to  the  new  sections.  At  that  time,  there  were 
an  equal  number  of  Slave  and  Free  States,  giving  an  ex 
act  balance  of  power  in  the  Senate,  and  the  admission  of 
California  either  as  a  Free  or  a  Slave  State  was  a  matter 
of  vital  importance  to  both  political  parties.  President 
Taylor  recommended  that  California  be  admitted  ;  that 
the  new  territories  should  draw  up  constitutions  to  suit 
themselves  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  and  be  ultimately 
admitted  as  States  on  these  bases.  This  view  was  too 
liberal  for  the  slave-holding  leaders  of  the  South,  and 
many  of  them  already  threatened  secession.  In  the 
Senate,  Henry  Clay  was  attempting  to  effect  some  sort 
of  compromise — compromise  which  has  ever  been  the 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  457 

bane  of  the  country — when  President  Taylor  was  attacked 
with  bilious  fever  on  July  4,  1850,  and  died  five  days 
later  at  the  White  House. 

Few  of  the  Presidents  have  been  less  prepared  to  fill 
that  high  office.  He  was  ignorant,  not  only  of  state-craft 
and  politics,  but  he  had  not  had  the  most  ordinary  ad- 
vantages  of  education.  On  the  other  hand,  he  had  ster 
ling  qualities  of  character ;  he  was  simple,  modest,  loyal, 
and  thoroughly  desirous  to  do  his  dul^  as  far  as  a  limited 
understanding  made  it  plain  ;  and  he  died  amid  sincere 
regret.  He  left  several  children,  one  of  his  daughters 
being  the  first  Mrs.  Jefferson  Davis. 

MILLARD    FILLMORE. 

Millard  Fillmore,  the  thirteenth  President,  was  born 
January  7,  1800,  in  Locke,  now  Summerhill,  Cayuga 
County,  New  York.  The  region  was  then  a  wilderness, 
and  his  opportunities  for  education  were  limited  to  the 
most  elementary  parts.  At  fourteen,  he  was  apprenticed 
to  learn  the  fuller's  trade  ;  but  in  his  nineteenth  year 
determined  to  study  law.  He  agreed,  therefore,  to  buy 
the  rest  of  his  time  from  his  employer,  and  with  a  neigh 
boring  lawyer  arranged  to  earn  his  lessons.  In  1821, 
he  made  his  way  on  foot  to  Buffalo,  and  arrived  an  utter 
stranger  with  his  entire  fortune  of  $4  in  his  pocket.  He 
obtained  employment  by  teaching  school,  and  assisting 
the  post-master  while  he  prosecuted  his  studies,  and  the 


458  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

energy  and  determination  which  had  helped  him  so  far, 
carried  him  to  the  bar  before  the  usual  period  of  prepara 
tion.  He  began  practice  at  Aurora,  New  York,  where 
his  father  then  resided.  He  gradually  built  up  a  pros 
perous  practice,  and  in  1830  removed  to  Buffalo,  which 
was  ever  after  his  home. 

His  political  life  began  in  1828,  on  his  election  to  the 
State  Legislature  by  the  anti-Masonic  party.  He  parti 
cularly  distinguished  himself  by  advocating  the  abolition 
of  imprisonment  for  debt;  the  bill  in  relation  to  which 
was  mainly  drafted  by  him.  In  1832,  he  was  sent  to 
Congress  on  the  anti-Jackson  ticket.  In  1836,  he  was 
sent  again  by  the  Whigs,  and  remained  until  1842,  when 
he  declined  a  renomination.  Fillmore  earnestly  sup 
ported  President  John  Quincy  Adams  in  his  course  con 
cerning  the  reception  and  reading  in  Congress  of  peti 
tions  adverse  to  Slavery.  He  declared  himself  adverse 
to  the  admission  of  Texas  as  a  Slave  State  ;  he  was  in 
favor  of  the  immediate  abolition  of  Slavery  in  the  Dis 
trict  of  Columbia, — and  of  Congress  using  all  its  consti 
tutional  powers  to  prevent  the  slave  trade  between  the 
States.  He  would  not,  however,  pledge  himself  not  to 
change  his  opinions  on  these  vital  questions.  Fillmore 
was  a  most  devoted  'Representative,  and  was  one  of  the 
most  active  members  during  his  entire  term  in  Congress. 
He  retired  in  1843,  and  was  a  candidate  for  the  nomina 
tion  of  Y ice-President  in  1844,  but  was  defeated.  He 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  459 

was  also  defeated  for  Governor  of  New  York  in  1845  by 
Silas  Wright.  In  1847  he  was  elected  Comptroller  of 
the  State,  and  in  his  report  in  1849,  suggested  that  a 
national  bank,  with  United  States  stocks  as  a  basis  for 
the  issue  of  currency,  would  be  a  great  convenience  for 
the  people ;  thus  foreshadowing  our  present  national 
banking  system. 

In  June,  1848,  Fillmore  was  really  nominated  for  the 
Vice-Presidency  with  General  Taylor  for  President,  and 
was  elected  the  following  November.  When  John  C. 
Calhoun  was  Vice-President,  he  had  made  the  rule  that 
the  Vice-President  had  no  power  to  call  the  Senate  to 
order.  Fillmore,  however,  in  a  brief  but  telling  speech, 
announced  his  intention  of  keeping  order  in  that  body, 
and  reversing  any  previous  rules,  if  necessary.  His 
course  was  highly  commended  by  the  senators  of  all 
parties. 

On  the  10th  of  July,  1850,  he  was  sworn  in  as  Presi 
dent  upon  Zachary  Taylor's  death.  The  question  of  the 
constitutionality  of  the  act  compelling  the  return  of  fugi 
tive  slaves  soon  came  up  for  decision,  and  was  referred 
to  the  attorney-general,  John  J.  Crittenden  of  Kentucky. 
He  decided  in  favor  of  the  bill,  and  the  President  con 
curred  in  the  decision.  This  was  one  of  the  most  unpop 
ular  measures  of  Fillmore's  administration ;  for  many 
members  of  the  Whig  party  were  opposed  to  encourag 
ing  Slavery,  although  not  avowedly  of  the  anti-slavery 


400  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

faith.  Tho  execution  of  this  law  was  constantly  resisted, 
and  although  the  President  declared  it  should  be  main 
tained  because  it  was  the  law,  those  who  resisted  it  were 
not,  in  consequence  of  its  unpopularity,  often  molested. 
The  signing  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Bill,  as  it  was  called, 
was  almost  the  only  very  unpopular  act  of  Fillmore's 
administration,  which  in  many  respects  was  remarkably 
successful ;  but  he  was  so  distasteful  to  the  northern  pub 
lic  that,  when  a  candidate  for  renomination  in  1852,  he 
could  not  secure  twenty  votes  in  the  Free  States.  Once 
afterward,  in  185G,  he  was  nominated  by  the  American 
or  Know-Nothing  party  for  President,  against  Buchanan 
nominated  by  the  Democrats,  and  Fremont  by  the  Repub 
licans.  He  received  quite  a  large  popular  vote;  but 
Maryland  alone  gave  him  its  electoral  vote.  After  this, 
he  wholly  retired  from  public  life,  and  lived  in  Buffalo 
until  his  death,  March  8th,  1874. 

FRANKLIN    PIERCE. 

Franklin  Pierce,  fourteenth  President,  although  well 
born — his  father  being  a  Revolutionary  general,  and 
Governor  of  his  native  State — and  well  educated,  was 
one  of  the  most  unenlightened  Executives  the  country 
has  had.  His  body  was  born  in  Hillsborough,  New 
Hampshire,  November  23, 1804  ;  but  his  mind  was  native 
to  the  most  bigoted  region  of  the  South.  He  was  gradu 
ated  at  Bowdoin  College  in  1824,  in  the  same  class  with 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  461 

Nathaniel  Hawthorne ;  he  studied  law  at  Portsmouth 
and  Amherst,  N.  H.,  and  Northampton,  Mass.,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1827.  At  the  ago 
of  twenty-five,  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature, 
remaining  four  years.  At  twenty-nine,  he  was  sent  to 
Congress,  and  in  1837,  when  barely  of  legal  age,  was 
sent  to  the  Senate.  This  rapid  political  advancement 
indicated  that  he  was  regarded  as  an  exceptionally  able 
young  man ;  but  it  also  indicates  that  the  constituency 
which  thus  recognized  his  ability  must  have  been  no  less 
narrow-minded  than  himself.  All  his  congressional 
course  was  in  the  line  of  political  retrogression,  and  he 
uniformly  voted  with  the  southern  members  in  favor  of 
all  pro-slavery  and  other  mistaken  acts.  He  ardently 
approved  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  was  in  such  cor 
dial  sympathy  with  President  Polk  concerning  the  Mexi 
can  war,  that  he  enlisted  in  one  of  the  earliest  volunteer 
regiments.  He  was  shortly  after  made  Colonel  of  the 
Ninth  regiment,  and  was  commissioned  Brigadier-General 
before  he  departed  for  the  seat  of  war.  The  appoint 
ment,  however,  was  justified  by  his  bravery  and  wisdom 
on  the  battle-field  ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned 
to  his  home  and  his  law  practice  covered  with  laurels. 
In  1852,  he  was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  for  the 
Presidency,  and  elected  by  an  overwhelming  majority. 
In  his  inaugural  address  he  foreshadowed  his  future  blind 
policy.  He  argued  that  Slavery  wras  recognized  by  the 


462  LIVES   OF   THE   PKESIDENTS. 

Constitution  ;  that  therefore  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  was 
right,  and  should  be  carried  out ;  and  lie  denounced  all 
agitation  of  the  slavery  question.  Among  the  most  im 
portant  events  of  his  administration  were  the  repeal  of 
the  Missouri  compromise,  the  organization  of  the  Terri 
tories  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  under  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Act,  and  the  negotiation  by  Commodore  Perry 
of  our  first  treaty  with  the  hitherto  unknown  country  of 
Japan.  It  was  about  this  time  that  the  troubles  between 
the  anti-slavery  and  pro-slavery  citizens  of  Kansas  began  ; 
and  on  January  24, 1856,  President  Pierce  sent  a  message 
to  Congress  declaring  the  formation  of  a  Free-State  gov 
ernment  in  Kansas  an  act  of  rebellion.  The  President's 
course  in  relation  to  the  border  troubles,  as  they  were 
then  called,  gave  great  offense,  and  justly,  to  a  very  large 
part  of  the  North,  although  anti-slavery  tenets  were  then 
by  no  means  popular.  There  is  little  doubt,  however, 
that  his  evident  southern  proclivities  helped  to  dei'eat 
Pierce  for  renomination  ;  for  sectional  feeling,  which 
resulted  later  in  civil  war,  was  already  beginning  to  run 
high.  As  long  as  he  remained  the  Executive,  Pierce  did 
his  utmost  to  prevent  the  new  States,  Kansas  especially, 
from  being  free,  and  when  he  retired,  on  March  4, 1857, 
he  left  the  way  open  for  his  weak-kneed  successor,  James 
Buchanan,  to  do  the  same. 

After  leaving  the  White  House,  Pierce  made  a  protract 
ed  European  tour,  and  returned  to  New  Hampshire  about 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  463 

the  beginning  of  the  Rebellion.  During  its  progrsss  he 
declared  in  a  public  speech  his  entire  sympathy  with  the 
South.  He  passed  into  a  retirement  which  became  prac 
tically  oblivion,  and  died  at  Concord,  October  8,  1869. 
Personally  he  was  amiable,  courteous,  and  refined,  and 
much  liked  by  his  intimate  friends  ;  but  his  peculiar  bias 
prevented  him  from  comprehending  both  sides  of  a 
question. 

19* 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


JAMES  BUCHANAN,  FIFTEENTH  PRESIDENT  OF 
THE  UNITED  STATES. 

An  Unpopular  Administration.— James  Buchanan's  Early  History. 
— Sent  to  Congress  at  Twenty-nine. — The  Weakest  of  Presidents. — 
His  Total  Inadequacy  for  the  Great  Emergency  in  which  He  was 
Placed. — Shrewd  for  His  Own  Interest. — An  Admirer  and  Fol 
lower  of  Jackson  "Without  His  Will  or  Courage. — The  Anti-Slav 
ery  Excitement  in  Kansas. — The  Cause  of  the  Civil  War  Inherent 
in  the  Constitution. — The  Nation  on  the  Eve  of  a  Conflict. — 
Admission  by  Buchanan  of  the  Right  of  the  Southern  States  to 
Secede.— A  Pitiful  Spectacle  of  Imbecility.— General  Relief  at  the 
End  of  His  Administration. 

No  administration,  unless  it  was  John  Tyler's,  has 
ever  been  so  unpopular  as  James  Buchanan's.  Odious 
throughout  the  North  on  account  of  what  was  declared 
to  be  his  cowardly  and  treacherous  yielding  to  the  out 
rageous  and  rebellious  acts  of  the  South,  it  was,  towards 
its  close,  bitterly  condemned  by  the  South,  which  accused 
him  of  perfidy  to  them  in  sustaining  the' unconstitutional 
aggressions  of  the  North.  He  shared  the  fate  of  most 
men -who,  in  times  of  fierce  dissension  between  two  great 

parties,  try,  in  a  feeble   and  vacillating  way,  to  avoid 

(464) 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  465 

offending  either,  and  end  by  offending  both.  The  best 
that  can  be  said  of  Buchanan  is  that,  placed  in  a  most 
difficult  and  critical  situation,  which  would  have  tested 
the  powers  of  the  strongest  man,  he  was  found  weak 
and  irresolute,  and  shamefully  inadequate  to  the  vast 
emergency. 

His  father  was  a  Scotch-Irishman,  who  had  immigrated 
to  this  country  without  means  or  prospects,  and  had 
married,  soon  after  arrival,  Elizabeth  Speer,  a  farmer's 
daughter.  They  sought  their  fortunes  in  an  unsettled 
region  of  Pennsylvania;  the  young  husband  cutting 
down  the  trees,  and  building  a  log  hut  for  their  future 
home.  There,  at  the  base  of  the  eastern  ridge  of  the 
Alleghanies,  in  Franklin  County,  James  was  born,  April 
22d,  1791,  and  spent  eight  years.  He  died  near  Lan 
caster  in  June,  1868.  His  father,  who,  like  most  of  his 
race,  was  industrious,  shrewd,  and  thrifty,  prospered  in  a 
humble  fashion,  and  removed  to  the  village  of  Mercers- 
burg,  where  the  boy  was  sent  to  school.  He  showed 
great  aptitude  and  native  talents,  and  entered  Dickinson 
College  at  Carlisle  at  fourteen,  and,  four  years  later,  was 
graduated  with  distinction.  Like  almost  every  other 
President,  he  took  to  law  at  Lancaster,  and  began  prac 
tice  when  he  had  attained  his  majority.  He  is  reported 
to  have  been  tall,  well-formed,  vigorous,  exuberant  of 
spirits,  and  fond  of  manly  sports.  Very  diligent  and 
ambitious,  he  advanced  rapidly,  gained  a  lucrative  prac- 


466  LIVES    OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

tice,  and  at  thirty  was  ranked  as  one  of  the  first  lawyers 
in  the  State. 

Having  been  sent  to  Congress  at  twenty-nine,  he 
remained  there  for  ten  years,  and  when  he  had  reached 
forty,  he  retired  from  business,  having  acquired  what 
was  then  regarded  as  wealth.  In  politics  he  began  as 
a  Federalist;  but  he  favored  the  war  of  1812,  and  even 
volunteered  for  the  defense  of  Baltimore.  Subsequently 
he  turned  Republican,  properly  Democrat,  largely  through 
his  admiration  of  General  Jackson,  and  from  sympathy 
with  his  doctrines, — the  kind  of  admiration,  it  is  pre 
sumed,  which  a  flabby  nature  has  for  a  strong  one.  In 
1831,  he  was  appointed  by  the  President  Minister  to 
Russia,  and  discharged  his  duties  faithfully  and  accepta 
bly.  On  his  return,  two  years  later,  he  was  chosen 
to  the  United  States  Senate,  where  he  came  into  contact 
with  Silas  Wright,  Calhoun,  Webster,  and  Clay,  the  last 
of  whom  never  liked  him,  regarding  him  as  a  timid, 
self-seeking,  time-serving  man.  He  almost  invariably 
reflected  the  views  of  the  administration,  and  was 
accused  by  his  opponents  of  obsequiousness  and  sub 
serviency.  He  defended  Jackson  for  his  course  in 
removing  from  office  all  who  would  not  support  him,  or 
were  of  different  politics — a  course  that  has  been  incal 
culably  mischievous  to  the  government,  and  for  which 
Jackson  is  entirely  responsible — and  insisted  that  it  was 
not  only  justifiable,  but  commendable.  This  greatly 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  467 

pleased  Jackson,  who  never  could  distinguish  between 
flattery  and  sincere  appreciation,  and  who  considered 
every  man  his  enemy  that  had  a  will  of  his  own.  Con 
sistently  with  his  peculiar  character,  he  sustained  the 
administration  of  Van  Buren,  and  ardently  advocated 
the  annexation  of  Texas.  He  was  returned  to  the 
Senate,  and  kept  his  seat  until  Polk  assigned  him  (1845) 
a  place  in  his  Cabinet  as  Secretary  of  State. 

Buchanan  naturally  employed  all  his  energy  against 
the  Wilmot  Proviso,  by  which  Slavery  should  be  excluded 
from  all  territory  obtained  from  Mexico,  and  was  con 
tinually  nervous  and  troubled  about  the  anti-slavery 
movement,  at  that  time  steadily  growing.  From  first 
to  last,  he  was  always  actively  on  the  side  of  the  peculiar 
institution,  and  was  secretly  despised  therefor  by  not  a 
few  of  the  most  zealous  southerners.  Conservative  to  a 
point  of  timorousness,  he  was  ever  in  dread  of  a  disso 
lution  of  the  Union.  He  did  not  think  the  North  could 
do  too  much  cringing  and  skulking  to  placate  the  inso 
lent  and  arrogant  South.  He  was  willing  that  the 
Republic  should  be  materially  preserved  by  the  sacrifice 
of  all  principle  on  the  part  of  the  Free  States.  In  a 
speech  in  the  lower  house,  he  said,  "I  shall  forever  avoid 
any  expression,  the  direct  tendency  of  which  must  be  to 
create  sectional  jealousies,  and  at  length  disunion, — that 
worst  and  last  of  all  political  calamities."  Discussing 
the  admission  of  Michigan  and  Arkansas,  in  the  Senate, 


468  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

he  declared,  "The  older  I  grow,  the  more  I  am  inclined 
to  be  a  states-rights  man."  He  maintained,  concerning 
petitions  about  Slavery,  that  "  Congress  had  no  power  to 
legislate  on  the  subject,"  and  that  the  body  "might  as 
well  undertake  to  interfere  with  Slavery  under  a  foreign 
government  as  in  any  of  the  States  where  it  now  exists." 
More  southern  than  the  Southerners,  he  was  without 
their  motive  of  material  interest,  and  without  their 
excuse  of  local  tradition  and  sectional  prejudice.  Is  it 
strange,  therefore,  that  in  1856  he  was  put  forward  as 
their  candidate  for  the  presidency,  against  John  C. 
Fremont,  the  first  Republican  candidate  of  the  new 
order,  and  Millard  Fillmore,  Native  American  ?  As  was 
said  at  the  time,  they  could  not  find  a  more  willing 
servant,  or  a  more  pliant  tool.  He  received  at  the 
Cincinnati  convention  one  hundred  and  seventy-four 
electoral  votes  out  of  three  hundred  and  three,  and 
became  the  fifteenth  President. 

Extraordinary  excitement  was  produced,  the  first  year 
of  his  administration,  by  an  effort  to  introduce  Slavery 
into  Kansas,  where  civil  war  was  waged.  He  was,  of 
course,  an  aider  and  abettor  of  the  South.  He  argued 
in  his  message  that  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  which 
was  directly  in  the  interest  of  the  pro-slavery  men, 
should  be  adopted ;  but  Congress  resisted,  and  Kansas 
came  in  free.  He  wanted  to  buy  Cuba  for  the  advantage 
of  slavery ;  he  filled  his  Cabinet  with  Democrats  and 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  469 

their  friends,  and  negatively,  at  least,  helped  the  cause 
of  secession  by  every  means  in  his  power.  Everybody 
saw  the  long-deferred,  but  never-settled  sectional  conflict 
at  hand ;  that  the  contest  which  had  been  suppressed 
and  glossed  over  by  the  Constitution  would,  after  nearly 
a  century,  have  to  be  fought  out. 

The  founders  of  the  Republic  had  secured  peace  by 
bequeathing  the  unavoidable  battle  to  their  posterity.  It 
was  in  1861  as  it  had  been  in  1789.  That  was  the 
armistice  ;  this  was  the  resumption  of  hostilities.  It  was 
Federalist  and  anti-Federalist  then  ;  it  was  Unionist  and 
Disunionist  now  ;  but,  although  the  words  were  changed, 
the  meaning  was  the  same.  The  cause  of  the  civil  strife 
was  the  outward  agreement  and  the  inward  disagreement 
of  the  Constitution.  Washington  perceived  its  defects, 
but  believed  it  the  best  that  could  be  devised,  the  sole 
alternative  for  anarchy  and  civil  war.  And  so  it  was  ; 
but  the  Civil  War  came  and  was  bound  to  come  in  due 
season.  America  compromised  then,  and  kept  compro 
mising  for  two  generations,  and  the  result  of  the  com 
promise  was  a  mighty  fraternal  struggle  which  for  blood 
shed  and  horror  has  never  been  equaled.  The  cause  of 
the  conflict  was  the  hollow  compromise  of  the  Constitu 
tion.  Its  framers  were  most  thoughtful,  prudent,  saga 
cious.  They  did  all  that  they  could.  They  saw  the 
present ;  they  could  not  perceive  the  future.  And  now 
that  future  is,  fortunately,  behind  us  ;  and  we  as  a  people 


470  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

are,  for  the  first  time,  united  by  common  losses,  common 
sufferings,  and  common  sorrows. 

As  Buchanan's  term  drew  toward  a  close,  the  people 
of  the  North  became  more  and  more  aroused  against  him 
for  his  constant  concessions  to  the  slave  power.  The  anli- 
slavery  feeling  grew  more  and  more  intense,  and  culmi 
nated  in  the  nomination  of  Abraham  Lincoln  for  Presi 
dent,  who  had  given  assurances  that  he  would  be  the 
Executive  of  the  whole  country.  The  South  pronounced 
him  a  sectional  candidate,  and  declared  it  would  go  out 
if  he  should  be  elected.  It  had  said  the  same  thing 
about  Fremont.  It  had  been  threatening  to  dissolve  the 
Union  so  long  —  it  had  always  kept  political  control  by 
menacing  the  North  —  that  the  Free  States  had  finally 
got  tired  of  hearing  the  threat.  They  were  anxious  to 
learn  whether  it  was  in  earnest  or  not.  If  not,  they 
ought  to  know  it ;  if  in  earnest,  they  should  know  it  also. 
The  knowledge  could  not  come  too  soon.  The  disrupture 
might  as  well  be  then  as  at  any  time — better,  indeed.  So 
they  elected  Lincoln,  and  the  disintegration  began. 

Buchanan  admitted  the  right  of  the  Southern  States 
to  secede,  and  held  that  Congress  had  no  power  to  pre 
vent  them.  He  sat,  nevertheless,  in  his  bewilderment, 
and  saw  the  arms  of  the  Republic  stolen,  the  national 
forts  surrendered,  State  after  State  discarding  its  alle 
giance.  There  was  no  remedy  for  it,  in  his  flaccid  mind. 
He  did  not  even  remonstrate.  All  his  censure  was  for 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  471 

those  averse  to  the  extension  of  slavery.  His  words 
were  :  "  The  loner-continued  interference  of  the  Northern 
people  with  Slavery  in  the  South  has  at  length  produced 
its  natural  effects."  It  was  a  pitiful  spectacle  of  imbe 
cility.  How  differently  Andrew  Jackson,  whom  he  had 
assumed  to  admire,  would  have  acted  in  his  place !  He 
would  have  done  something,  and  something  decisive.  He 
would  have  taken  the  responsibility.  He  would  have 
taught  the  Rebels  a  lesson  at  the  outset.  The  War  would 
at  least  have  begun  earlier. 

Two  months  before  the  inauguration  of  Lincoln,  the 
South  had  prepared  itself  for  an  aggressive  struggle ;  had 
strengthened  its  position  by  seizing  government  property, 
and  the  head  of  the  nation  had  not  lifted  a  finger  against 
them.  If  he  had  been  hired  to  cooperate  with  them,  he 
could  hardly  have  served  them  more  effectually.  Many 
conciliatory  measures  were  proposed  by  the  North  ;  but 
the  Rebels  rejected  them.  They  evidently  scorned  the 
government,  as  they  had  reason  to,  with  such  an  unex- 
ecutive  Executive.  Buchanan  seemed  concerned  only 
with  the  date  of  the  4th  of  March,  when  his  administra 
tion  would  end,  and  his  responsibility  for  overt  acts 
would  cease.  It  did  end,  and  the  North  breathed  freer, 
and  experienced  a  sense  of  relief  and  of  diminished 
shame  that  there  would  be  no  more  of  him  forever. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN,   SIXTEENTH   PRESIDENT 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Contrast  Between  Lincoln  and  Buchanan. — His  Lonely  Boyhood 
and  Severe  Youth.— The  Cause  of  his  Detestation  of  Slavery.— The 
Campaign  with  Douglas  in  Illinois  Introduces  him  to  the  Nation. — 
The  Irresistible  Magnetism  of  the  Rail-Splitter. — His  Nomination  at 
Chicago. — Deplorable  Condition  of  the  Country  at  the  Time  of  his 
Inauguration. — His  Resolve  to  Preserve  the  Union  at  all  Hazards. — 
Distressing  Effect  of  his  Assassination. — His  Personal  Appearance 
and  Power  of  Persuasion. — How  the  Future  will  Regard  the  Great 
President. 

There  has  scarcely  ever  been  a  greater  contrast 
between  two  men  in  power  than  between  James  Bu 
chanan  and  Abraham  Lincoln.  They  were  antipodes. 
One  was  an  embodiment  of  feebleness,  the  other  an  incar 
nation  of  strength.  The  best  of  Buchanan  was  outside  ; 
the  best  of  Lincoln  inside.  You  had  to  know  one  to 
measure  his  weakness,  and  the  other  to  understand  his 
greatness.  That  such  men  should  succeed  one  another 
is  one  of  the  antitheses  in  which  History  and  Nature 
delight. 

(472) 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  473 

The  sixteenth  President,  who  is  as  certain  of  lasting 
fame  as  Washington,  was  born  in  Hardin  (now  Lame) 
County,  Ky.,  February  12,  1809,  his  ancestors  having 
gone  from  Pennsylvania  to  Virginia,  whence  they  had 
removed  to  Kentucky.  His  father,  Thomas  Lincoln,  and 
his  mother,  Nancy  Hanks,  were  Virginians.  The  child 
hood  of  Abraham  Lincoln  was  lonely,  sterile,  and  full  of 
hardship.  At  eight  years  of  age,  his  parents  went  to 
Spencer  County,  Ind.,  and  he  remembered  how  severe 
the  journey  was,  and  how  much  he  endured  in  making 
it.  Two  years  later,  he  lost  his  mother, — a  bitter  loss 
which  he  never  ceased  to  mourn.  She  had  taught  him  to 
read,  and  did  much  to  form  his  character,  young  as  he 
was.  Among  the  few  books  that  he  had  and  prized  in 
his  boyhood  were  "  Robinson  Crusoe,"  "  Pilgrim's  Pro 
gress,"  and  a  "  Life  of  Washington,"  which  left  a  marked 
impression  on  his  mind,  and  from  which  he  could  repeat 
long  passages  after  he  had  become  a  man.  At^  twenty- 
one  he  went  to  Macon  County,  Illinois.  He  volunteered 
for  the  defense  of  the  frontier  settlements  on  the  break 
ing  out  of  the  Black  Hawk  War  in  1832,  but  it  came  to 
an  end  before  he  had  seen  any  service.  In  the  same 
year,  he  advocated  the  cause  of  Henry  Clay  against  that 
of  General  Jackson,  and  was  sorely  troubled  at  the 
former's  defeat,  having  formed  an  enthusiastic  admira 
tion  for  him.  In  1884,  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature, 
and  reflected  in  1836  and  1838.  He  had  already  formed 


474  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

decided  opinions  on  Slavery,  and  had  proclaimed  that  it 
was  founded  on  injustice  and  bad  policy.  He  had  seen 
slaves  chained  and  whipped  when  he  was  a  young  man 
at  New  Orleans,  and  he  hated  slavery  ever  after.  Ad 
mitted  to  the  bar,  he  began  to  practice  at  Springfield, 
III.,  in  1837,  and  five  years  after  he  married  Mary  Todd, 
daughter  of  Robert  S.  Todd  of  Lexington,  Ky. 

Having  become  prominent  as  a  Whig  in  his  own  State, 
he  was  sent  to  Congress  in  1846,  and  while  there  always 
acted  on  the  side  of  freedom.  But  his  reputation  was 
local  until  he  had  been  nominated,  in  1858,  by  the  Repub 
lican  Convention  of  Illinois  for  the  United  States  Senate 
in  opposition  to  the  reelection  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas. 
Lincoln  challenged  his  adversary  to  canvass  the  State, 
and  they  did  so,  speaking  in  joint  debate  seven  times. 
It  was  a  remarkable  campaign,  and  attracted  national 
attention.  '  The  main  question  was  on  the  admission  of 
Kansas  as  a  Free  or  Slave  State.  Douglas's  assumptions 
of  superiority,  and  allusions  to  his  opponent's  early 
poverty  and  humble  employment,  were  received  with 
entire  good  nature,  and  with  such  humorous  turns  and 
telling  retorts  that  the  Little  Giant  was  put  at  disadvan 
tage.  Indeed,  skillful  and  brilliant  debater  though  he 
was,  he  was  no  match  for  Lincoln,  whose  homely  com 
mon  sense  •  and  sagacious  mind  had  far  more  influence 
with  the  people. 
'  The  rail-splitter,  as  he  was  called — he  had  often  split 


LIVES   OP   THE   PRESIDENTS.  475 

rails  to  build  cabins — was  one  of  the  most  persuasive  and 
effective  speakers.  Nobody  who  had  ever  heard  him  once, 
whatever  his  prejudice  beforehand,  could  fail  to  like  him. 
He  was  so  simple,  so  fair,  so  direct,  so  convincing,  that 
he  would  always  carry  his  audience  with  him.  It  is 
doubtful  if  he  has  ever  had  his  equal  in  this  respect  in 
the  United  States.  "  To  listen  to  Lincoln,"  said  a  prom 
inent  politician,  "  is  to  be  on  his  side.  There  is  no  resist 
ing  him  or  his  conclusions." 

Lincoln  actually  compelled  Douglas  during  that  memo 
rable  campaign  to  array  himself  against  the  Dred-Scott 
Decision,  and  this  so  enraged  the  extreme  Southern 
Democrats  that  they  refused  to  support  him  for  Presi 
dent  in  1860.  They  nominated  John  C.  Breckinridge 
instead,  and  this  frustrated  Douglas's  hopes  and  burning 
ambition.  Lincoln  was  defeated  by  a  peculiar  arrange 
ment  of  the  legislative  districts,  notwithstanding  that  he 
had  a  plurality  of  more  than  4,000  votes  over  his  rival. 
But  the  Illinois  campaign  made  him  President. 

In  1860,  he  delivered  a  strong  and  eloquent  speech  on 
the  vital  question  of  slavery  at  the  Cooper  Institute  in 
New  York,  and  then  went  to  New  England,  where  he 
also  spoke  most  effectively.  The  Chicago  Convention 
denied  in  its  platform  the  right  of  Congress,  of  a  Terri 
torial  Legislature,  or  of  any  individual  or  individuals,  to 
give  legal  existence  to  slavery  in  any  territory  of  the 
United  States,  and  on  the  third  ballot  nominated  Lincoln 


47 G  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

as  Ihe  Republican  candidate.  Win.  H.  Seward's  friends 
were  greatly  disappointed,  for  they  had  been  confident 
of  his  success,  particularly  after  he  had  led  Lincoln  on 
the  first  two  ballots ;  but  they  soon  became  reconciled. 
The  canvass  was  most  enthusiastic  and  demonstrative, 
and  the  feeling  all  over  the  country  was  that  we  were  on 
the  eve  of  a  crisis.  Lincoln  received  180  electoral  votes, 
Breckenridge  72,  John  Bell  39,  and  Douglas  12. 

When  Lincoln  had  taken  his  seat,  seven  States  had 
formally  seceded,  and  seven  more  were  contemplating 
secession.  The  North  was,  thanks  to  the  administration 
of  Buchanan,  deprived  of  all  the  requirements  of  war ; 
the  small  army  and  navy  had  been  purposely  scattered ; 
the  treasury  was  empty.  The  Free  States  had  scarcely 
decided  what  course  to  take  when  the  attack  by  South 
Carolina  on  Sumter  forced  civil  war  upon  them.  Then 
they  were  unanimous  in  raising  money  and  men ;  they 
were  ablaze  with  patriotism ;  they  were  as  belligerent  as 
the  South,  though  less  boastful  and  confident.  For  four 
years  war  raged  fiercely,  success  alternating  with  defeat. 
There  were  many  despondent  hours  and  dark  days,  and 
the  President  was  urged  to  various  measures  for  the 
good  of  the  country,  which  he  declined.  Fault  was 
found  with  him  in  various  quarters;  he  was  termed 
slow,  obstinate,  wrong-headed;  but  the  end  proved  his 
consummate  wisdom.  He  was  a  born  leader  of  men. 
He  understood  his  fellow-countrymen,  the  drift  of  events, 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  477 

and  the  needs  of  the  time  as  no  one  else  understood 
them.  He  steadily  refused  to  proclaim  Emancipation 
until  the  occasion  was  ripe  (September  22,  1862),  and 
he  was  the  man  who  knew  when  that  would  be. 

The  Fugitive  Slave  Law  was  repealed  in  June,  1864, 
and,  about  that  date,  Lincoln  said  in  an  interview : 
"  There  have  been  men  base  enough  to  propose  to  me  to 
return  our  black  warriors  of  Port  Hudson  and  Olustee, 
and  thus  win  the  respect  of  the  masters  they  fought. 
Should  I  do  so,  I  should  deserve  to  be  damned  in  time  and 
eternity.  Come  what  may,  I  will  keep  my  faith  with 
friend  and  foe.  My  enemies  pretend  I  am  now  carrying 
on  this  war  for  the  sole  purpose  of  abolition.  So  long 
as  I  am  President,  it  shall  be  carried  on  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  restoring  the  Union.  But  no  human  power 
can  subdue  this  Rebellion  without  the  use  of  the  eman 
cipation  policy,  and  every  other  policy  calculated  to 
weaken  the  moral  and  physical  forces  of  the  Rebellion." 

The  war,  which  had  cost  a  million  of  lives,  and  mill 
ions  on  millions  of  money,  practically  closed  with  the 
fall  of  Richmond,  April  9,  1865.  But,  while  the  popular 
rejoicing  was  at  its  height,  the  assassination  of  the  great 
President  shocked  the  nation,  and  filled  its  heart  with 
mourning.  No"  single  event  has,  it  is  safe  to  say,  ever 
so  filled  the  country  with  anguish  and  a  sense  of  be 
reavement.  The  whole  people  were  stunned  and  dis 
tressed  beyond  expression.  Lincoln  had  grown  upon 


478  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

them  steadily  and  rapidly  until  they  had  all  learned  to 
admire,  to  trust,  to  love,  and  to  revere  him.  He  had 
become  to  every  man,  woman,  and  child  as  a  near  and 
dear  personal  friend.  He  was  a  most  exalted  character, 
one  of  the  noblest  representatives  of  humanity,  a  credit 
to  his  kind,  an  almost  matchless  man.  He  was  the 
Father  of  his  Country  as  much  as  Washington  had  been. 
The  one  gave  us  a  Republic :  the  other  preserved  it, 
when  assailed  by  domestic  enemies.  As  Emerson  puts 
it,  "  By  his  courage,  his  justice,  his  even  temper,  his 
fertile  counsel,  his  humanity,  he  stood  a  heroic  figure  in 
the  center  of  a  heroic  epoch." 

As  time  goes  on,  his  reputation  will  grow.  We  are 
still  too  near  him  to  measure  his  greatness.  He  was 
such  a  man  as  Nature  produces  only  at  long  intervals ; 
he  was  of  the  grandest  type  of  men,  of  whom  there  have 
been  few  in  the  world.  Sprung  from  the  humblest,  a 
mere  backwoodsman,  without  education,  training,  or  any 
kind  of  assistance  or  advantage,  he  learned,  as  by  intui 
tion,  to  use  his  native  language,  the  greatest  of  all 
tongues,  as  the  ripest  scholars  could  not.  In  force-and 
fitness  of  expression  he  has  hardly  been  surpassed.  His 
letters  and  speeches  are  models,  the  classics  of  unstudied 
effort,  the  oracles  of  the  popular  heart.  Queer,  raw, 
angular,  awkward,  homely  of  feature,  no  one  could  be 
long  in  his  presence  and  hear  him  speak  without  feeling 
his  unquestionable  superiority.  One  forgot  his  physical 


LIVES   OF  THE   PRESIDENTS.  479 

defects  and  his  strange  imcoutlmess  in  the  power  and 
spirit  of  his  wonderful  individuality.  He  was  as  good 
as  he  was  great,  as  broad  as  he  was  tender.  He  will 
not  be  forgotten  ;  he  is  unforgetable.  Even  if  America 
should  decline  and  decay,  he  would  make  it  be  remem 
bered.  He  will  always  be  recalled  as  the  great  Ameri 
can.  If  ever  mortal  were,  Abraham  Lincoln  is  booked 
for  immortality.  His  fame  is  fixed  in  the  center  of  ages. 

The  future  will  revere  him  as  an  ideal  of  humanity. 
20 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 


ANDREW  JOHNSON  AND  ULYSSES  S.  GRANT, 
SEVENTEENTH  AND  EIGHTEENTH  PRESI 
DENTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Johnson's  Early  Life  and  Hard  Struggles. — A  Tailor  who  was  more 
than  the  Ninth  Part  of  a  Man. — His  Views  of  Slavery  and  Seces 
sion. — His  Personal  Courage  and  its  Good  Effects  Politically. — His 
Disagreement  with  Congress  about  Reconstruction. — The  Impeach 
ment  Trial. — Grant  in  the  Mexican  War. — His  Incompetency  in 
Business. — Finding  his  Place  in  the  Civil  War. — His  Extraordinary 
Success  in  the  Field. — Called  to  Command  the  Army  of  the  Poto 
mac. — His  Political  Mistakes  and  Greed  of  Power. 

Andrew  Johnson's  chief  claim  to  distinction  in  the 
future  will  probably  be  that  he  was  elected  Yice-Presi- 
dent  on  the  ticket  with  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  that  he 
succeeded  him  as  President,  after  his  assassination,  April 
15, 1865.  His  early  life  was  very  creditable,  denoting 
what  industry,  energy,  and  perseverance  may  accomplish 
against  extreme  poverty,  want  of  education,  and  every 
kind  of  obstacle.  Born  at  Raleigh,  N.  C.,  December  29, 
1808,  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  tailor, — his  father,  who 
died  when  he  was  a  child,  had  been  a  constable,  a  sexton, 

(480) 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  481 

and  a  porter, — and  followed  it  for  many  years  at  the  lit 
tle  town  of  Greenville,  Tenn.  He  was  a  ragged  urchin, 
a  street  Arab,  until  he  was  ten  years  old,  supported  by 
the  manual  labor  of  his  mother,  who  belonged  to  that 
most  unfortunate  class  known  as  the  poor  whites  of  the 
South.  He  could  not  even  read  then ;  indeed,  he  did  not 
learn  the  alphabet  until  some  time  after.  At  eighteen, 
he  married  a  girl  of  intelligence  and  considerable  educa 
tion,  who  became  his  instructor,  reading  to  him  while  he 
worked  at  his  humble  calling,  and  teaching  him  in  the 
evening  arithmetic,  geography,  and  history. 

He  gained  considerable  influence  over  mechanics  and 
manual  laborers,  and  by  the  time  he  was  of  age  had 
taken  quite  an  interest  in  politics,  to  which  he  adhered 
through  life.  He  ardently  espoused  their  cause,  and 
arrayed  himself  against  the  rich  and  ruling  class,  so 
strong  and  arrogant  in  the  days  of  Slavery.  After  filling 
several  small  local  offices,  he  was  chosen  to  the  lower 
House  of  the  Legislature.  He  was  then  twenty-seven, 
and  proclaimed  himself  a  Democrat  of  the  Jacksonian 
school.  In  1840  he  took  the  stump  for  Martin  Van 
Burcn  against  Harrison,  and  became  a  ready  and  popular 
speaker  with  the  kind  of  people  he  addressed.  He  was 
very  fond  of  alluding  to  the  fact  of  his  being  a  mechanic 
and  a  wholly  self-made  man, — he  never  recovered  from 
the  habit, — and  these  constant  allusions,  whether  in  good 
taste  or  not,  won  over  the  common  people.  In  1843  he 


482  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

was  sent  by  the  Democrats  to  Congress,  and  kept  there 
for  ten  years,  and  in  1857  he  was  elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate. 

In  regard  to  Slavery,  his  views  were  those  of  a  South 
erner  and  a  Democrat.  He  accepted  it,  and  believed  it 
protected  by  the  Constitution,  'though  he  did  not 
think  it  would  last,  or  that  it  ought  to,  if  it  should 
endanger  the  Union.  In  the  canvass  of  1860,  he  supported 
Breckinridge,  the  candidate  of  the  extreme  Southerners ; 
but  when  they  threatened  secession  he  opposed  them, 
declaring  any  such  attempt  both  unjust  and  madly  foolish. 
Ho  maintained  that  they  should  contend  for  their  rights 
in  the  Union,  not  out  of  it ;  that  to  secede  would  ruin 
whatever  prospects  they  might  have.  He  boasted  that  he 
had  voted  and  spoken  against  Lincoln,  and  spent  money 
to  prevent  his  election.  But  as  time  went  on,  he  grew 
more  and  more  inimical  to  the  doctrine  of  State-Rights, 
and  the  action  of  the  secession  party.  One  day,  a  mob 
entered  the  railway  car  in  which  he  was  returning  home, 
for  the  purpose  of  lynching  him  ;  but  when  he  drew  his 
pistol,  the  mob  retired  in  disorder.  Johnson  was,  per 
sonally,  very  brave,  as  he  had  often  proved,  and  his  brave 
ry,  doubtless,  preserved  him  from  frequent  assaults. 
The  most  furious  Rebels  had  a  sense  of  prudence  which 
prevented  them  from  attacking  a  man  they  hated,  when 
they  knew  he  would  defend  himself  desperately.  Not 
daring  to  molest  him,  they  were  contented  to  bum  him  in 


LIVES   OF  THE  PRESIDENTS.  483 

effigy,  which  pleased  them,  and  did  him  no  harm.  His 
wife  and  child  were  driven  from  their  home,  and  his  nine 
slaves  confiscated.  Having  been  appointed  Military  Gov 
ernor  of  Tennessee  by  Lincoln,  he  discharged  his  difficult 
and  dangerous  duties  ably  and  fearlessly,  exercising  a 
most  favorable  influence  in  the  State. 

Elected  Vice-President  in  1864,  he  was  at  first  very 
severe  on  the  enemies  of  the  Government,  but  afterward 
changed  his  policy  to  one  of  conciliation,  which  rendered 
him  very  unpopular  in  the  North.  He  became  President 
at  Lincoln's  death,  and  was  soon  involved  with  Congress 
because  he  was  inimical  to  their  views  of  reconstruction 
and  the  rights  of  freedmen.  He  vetoed  various  acts 
which  were  passed  over  his  head,  and  put  himself  in  so 
antagonistic  a  position  to  the  body  that  its  members 
decided  to  impeach  him.  Charged,  among  other  offences, 
with  violating  the  Act  regulating  the  tenure  of  certain 
civil  offices — he  had  suspended  Secretary  Stanton  from 
the  war  office  without  the  consent  of  the  Senate — he  was 
formally  impeached  for  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 
At  the  close  of  the  trial,  thirty-five  Senators  voted  him 
guilty,  and  nineteen  not  guilty  ;  and  as  a  two-thirds  vote 
was  required  to  convict,  Johnson  escaped  by  just  one 
vote.  He  declared,  in  his  defense,  that  his  policy  of 
reconstruction  had  been  outlined  and  agreed  upon  by 
President  Lincoln  and  his  Cabinet,  and  that  Stanton  him 
self  had  pronounced  the  tenure-of-office  Act  unconstitu- 


484  LIVES   OP   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

tional.  His  undignified,  inconsistent  and  intemperate 
course  had  forfeited  the  esteem  in  which  the  Nation  had 
held  him,  and  he  went  out  of  office  with  general  approval. 
Still  seeking  place  and  power,  he  was  elected  United 
States  Senator  in  January,  1875  ;  but  he  died,  at  sixty- 
six,  the  next  July,  of  paralysis.  Andrew  Johnson  was 
one  of  the  men  who  had  lived  too  long  for  his  own  fame 
or  for  his  country's  good. 

ULYSSES   S.   GRANT. 

Ulysses  S.  Grant  is  a  notable  instance  of  a  man  who 
does  not  find  the  Avork  he  is  best  fitted  for  until  liis  youth 
has  passed.  But  for  the  Civil  War,  and  the  opportunities 
it  gave  him  of  displaying  his  military  talents,  it  is  entirely 
probable  that  he  would  have  been  to-day  unrecognized 
and  obscured.  If  any  one  had  predicted,  on  the  election 
of  Lincoln,  that  Grant  would  be  one  of  the  greatest  Gen 
erals  of  the  war  and  President  of  the  United  States,  he 
would  have  been  laughed  at.  No  one  seems  to  have 
suspected  that  Grant  was  in  any  way  remarkable  until 
he  had  demonstrated  it  by  deeds.  It  is,  indeed,  doubtful  if 
he  had  ever  suspected  it  himself.  But  he  is  so  quiet  and 
reticent  that  it  will  never  be  known  what  opinion  Grant 
entertains  of  Grant.  It  may  be  that  he  was  more  sur 
prised  than  anybody  else  when  he  made  the  discovery  of 
his  own  heroship.  He  may  have  questioned  his  own 
identity  or  have  thought,  like  the  Irishman,  that  he  had 
been  changed  during  the  night. 


LIVES   OP   THE   PRESIDENTS.  485 

Grant  is,  as  his  name  indicates,  of  Scotch  extraction, 
but  remotely.  His  parents  were  both  Pennsylvanians, 
though  he  is  a  native  of  Point  Pleasant,  Clermont  County, 
Ohio,  having  been  born  April  27, 1822.  Having  received 
a  partial  education  at  a  common  school,  he  entered  West 
Point  as  a  cadet  at  seventeen,  and  was  graduated  four 
years  later,  standing  twenty-first  in  a  class  of  thirty-nine, 
which  is  not  a  flattering  record.  He  went  with  his  regi 
ment  as  Lieutenant  to  Mexico,  and  distinguished  himself 
in  divers  engagements,  having  been  breveted  Captain 
for  gallantry  at  Chapultepec.  After  the  capture  of  the 
city  of  Mexico,  he  returned  with  his  regiment,  mar 
ried  Julia  T.  Dent  of  St.  Louis,  sister  of  one  of  his 
classmates,  and  at  thirty-two  resigned  his  commission. 
He  went  upon  a  farm  belonging  to  his  father-in-law,  near 
St.  Louis  ;  he  was  a  real-estate  agent  in  that  city,  and  a 
elerk  for  his  father,  then  a  leather  merchant  at  Galena, 
111.,  but  did  not  prosper.  He  appeared  to  be  unpractical, 
indolent,  careless,  and  was  generally  regarded  as  a  ne'er- 
do-well.  It  is  said  that  he  was  never  able  to  provide  for 
his  family,  which  would  have  come  to  want  but  for  his 
father-in-law,  who  often  regretted  that  his  daughter  was 
the  wife  of  so  incompetent  a  person. 

When  the  Civil  War  had  broken  out,  he  was  one  of  the 
first  to  enlist,  and  was  elected  Captain  of  a  company  of 
Illinois  volunteers,  who  reported  for  duty  at  Springfield. 
He  was  afterward  made  Colonel  of  an  Illinois  regiment, 


486  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

the  twenty-first,  and  became  in  two  months  a  Brigadier. 
His  first  battle  was  at  Belmont,  Mo,,  claimed  by  both 
sides,  where  he  had  a  horse  shot  under  him.  In  conjunc 
tion  with  the  gunboats  he  ascended  the  Tennessee,  and 
Fort  Henry  fell  into  our  hands,  but  mainly  through  the 
flotilla.  He  attacked  Fort  Donelson  on  the  Cumberland 
and  forced  it  to  surrender,  February  15, 1862,  with  some 
fourteen  thousand  prisoners.  This,  the  first  great  success 
of  the  war  for  the  Union  army,  filled  the  North  with  en 
thusiasm  ;  gave  Grant  a  high  reputation  and  the  rank  of 
Major-General.  General  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  attacked 
Grant  April  6th,  at  Shiloh,  on  the  Tennessee,  with  far  su 
perior  force;  drove  back  the  Union  troops,  and  took 
several  thousand  prisoners.  The  next  day,  Grant  having 
combined  with  General  Buell,  renewed  the  fight,  and  won 
a  victory,  General  Johnston  being  killed.  After  a  siege 
of  six  weeks,  he  took  Yicksburg — July  4,  1868, — and 
thirty  thousand  prisoners.  This  brilliant  achievement 
turned  the  admiring  eyes  of  the  North  upon  him,  and 
advanced  him  to  the  rank  of  Major-General  in  the  regular 
army.  The  following  November  he  defeated  Bragg  at 
Missionary  Ridge,  near  Chattanooga,  and  revealed  him 
self  as  the  proper  man  to  take  charge  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  which  had  never  achieved  any  permanent  suc 
cess,  but  had  experienced  any  number  of  reverses.  His 
repeated  and  bloody  engagements  in  Virginia  (he  was 
the  only  General  of  the  Potomac  who  had  ever  forced  and 


LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS.  487 

continued  the  fighting)  until  he  had  obliged  Lee  to  evacuate 
Richmond,  and  then  to  surrender  at  Appomatox,  are  too 
well  known  to  require  recapitulation.  Every  honor  was 
heaped  on  Grant ;  he  had  conquered  peace  ;  he  had  crushed 
the  Rebellion ;  he  had  preserved  the  Republic.  It  was 
thought  fitting,  therefore,  to  put  him  at  the  head  of  the 
government,  and  he  was  elected,  1868,  the  eighteenth 
President,  against  Horatio  Seymour,  receiving  two  hun 
dred  and  fourteen  electoral  votes,  and  his  competitor 
eighty. 

Grant  being  in  harmony  with  his  cabinet  and  the 
majority  of  Congress,  which  Johnson  had  not  been,  the 
reconstruction  of  the  States,  lately  in  rebellion,  steadily 
advanced.  He  declared  himself  in  favor  of  the  Fifteenth 
Amendment,  forbidding  the  disfranchisement  of  any 
person  on  account  of  race  or  color ;  and  the  machinery 
of  the  government,  disordered  by  the  obstinacy  of  the 
previous  Executive,  again  ran  smooth.  Grant  was 
reflected  in  1872  against  Horace  Greeley,  who  had 
obtained  the  nomination  of  the  Democrats  as  well  as  of 
the  Liberal  Republicans,  greatly  dissatisfied  with  Grant's 
administration.  While  they  regarded  some  of  Grant's 
measures  as  wise,  they  regarded  other  measures  as 
very  unwise.  They  had  no  reason,  they  said,  to  believe 
that  a  mere  soldier,  who  had  had  no  knowledge  and  no 
experience  in  political  life,  should  be  an  acceptable  Presi 
dent.  He  had  been  nominated  on  account  of  his  sup- 

20* 


488  LIVES  OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

posed  availability  which  had  been  proved,  and  for  that 
reason  he  was  again  put  forward.  His  second  term  was 
more  censured  than  the  first.  Nobody  questioned  his 
integrity  or  patriotism — these  hadl)een  repeatedly  tested 
in  the  field — but  he  often  seemed  indifferent  and  obstin 
ate.  He  was  sharply  criticized  for  his  excessive  attach 
ment  to  unworthy  and  unprincipled  men  whom  he  ranked 
as  his  friends.  His  confidence  in  them  was  pronounced 
excessive  ;  he  would  believe,  it  was  said,  nothing  against 
them ;  would  not  listen  to  those  who  wished  for  his  own 
good  and  the  good  of  the  country  to  open  his  eyes.  It 
would  seem  that  Grant  is  not  a  judge  .of  men.  If  he 
had  been,  he  would  not  and  could  not  have  selected  for 
office  persons  who  constantly  abused  his  trust,  and  filled 
his  administration  with  scandals.  Fidelity  to  friends 
may  be  an  admirable  trait  in  private  citizens,  but  such 
fidelity  in  high  officials,  particularly  when  their  friends 
are  totally  undeserving,  is  apt  to  become  mischievous, 
and  is  always  dangerous. 

Grant  has  been  criticised,  too,  for  what  has  been  called 
his  lust  of  power.  Many  Republicans  turned  against 
him  because  of  his  desire  for  a  third  term.  While  there 
is  no  law  against  a  third  term,  except  the  unwritten  law 
which  custom  and  precedent  have  made,  the  general  feel 
ing  in  the  community  is  earnestly  opposed  to  it.  Grant's 
advocates  asserted  for  months  that  he  did  not  want  it, 
but  that  it  would  be  superfluous  and  foolish  for  him  to 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  489 

decline  what  had  not  been  offered.  Nevertheless,  the 
outward  indications  were  directly  otherwise,  and  the 
Chicago  convention  of  1880  made  it  plain  that  he  was 
once  more  a  candidate  of  the  most  uncompromising  and 
contumacious  kind.  This  was  pointed  out  by  the  Inde 
pendents  as  a  corroboration  of  their  opinion,  that  Grant 
was  greedy  of  gain  and  office,  and  that  he  felt,  because 
he  had  beaten  the  Rebels,  as  if  the  Presidency  were  his 
by  right,  and  the  Nation  could  not  do  too  much  for  him 
and  his.  They  cited  as  evidence  his  willingness  to  take 
presents  of  any  sort  from  anybody  and  everybody,  and 
their  energy  of  assertion  unquestionably  injured  Grant 
in  many  quarters.  It  is  said  by  those  Independents  and 
others  that  but  for  the  late  disgraceful  failure  of  the 
firm  in  which  the  General  was  a  partner,  his  name  would 
again  have  been  presented  and  urged  at  the  recent  Con 
vention.  It  was  never  mentioned,  and  Grant's  bitterest 
opponents  now  admit  that  the  third-term  ghost  is  forever 
laid.  Grant's  connection  with  Grant  &  Ward  was  most 
unfortunate,  and  while  nobody  has  the  hardihood  to 
attempt  to  implicate  him  in  its  rascalities,  his  absolute 
ignorance  of  the  character  of  the  business  of  the  house 
in  which  he  was  a  partner,  has  given  color  to  the  charges 
of  his  unreserved  faith  in  unworthy  men,  and  of  his  de 
fective  judgment  concerning  them.  But  when  every 
thing  has  been  said,  the  fact  remains  that  General  Grant 
continues  to  be  widely  esteemed,  and  to  excite  sincere 


490  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

sympathy  on  account  of  his  recent  financial  adversities 
from  which  a  much  inferior,  though  different  order  of 
man,  would  have  been  protected.  All  things  considered, 
it  would,  perhaps,  have  been  better  for  Grant,  had  he 
never  entered  into  politics.  But,  despite  the  mistakes  he 
has  made  in  public  life  and  out  of  it,  the  general  feeling 
is  that  he  has  put  the  Nation  under  a  debt  of  gratitude 
which  it  never  can  and  does  not  wish  to  repay. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES,  JAMES  A.  GARFIELD, 
AND  CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR,  NINETEENTH, 
TWENTIETH,  AND  TWENTY-FIRST  PRESI 
DENTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Hayes  as  Lawyer,  Politician,  and  Soldier. — Nominated  because  an 
Oliioan. — The  Electoral  Commission. — Great  Outcry  Against  him, 
but  Still  a  Creditable  President.— Garfield's  Hard  Fight  with  Fortune 
at  the  Outset. — Ambition  to  be  a  Canal-Boat  Captain. — His  Career  in 
the  Army. — Leader  of  the  House  of  Representatives. — His  Admir 
able  Equipment  for  Political  Life. — His  Nomination  at  Chicago 
Wholly  Unexpected. — The  National  Sorrow  at  his  Assassination. — 
Arthur  Born  in  a  Log  Cabin,  and  Ruling  in  the  White  House. 

Rutherford  B.  Hayes  is  of  New  England  extraction — 
his  parents  were  Vermonters — though  an  Ohioan  by 
birthright,  having  been  born  at  the  town  of  Delaware, 
October  4,  1822.  His  father,  who  was  in  comfortable 
circumstances,  and  had  a  prosperous  mercantile  business 
at  Brattleborough,  suddenly  decided,  after  the  war  of 
1812,  to  go  west.  He  had  a  fancy  for  Ohio,  then  regarded 
as  the  remote  frontier,  which,  indeed,  it  was,  and  after  a 
preliminary  journey  of  inspection,  he  was  so  well  pleased 

with  the  new  region  that  he  went  back  and  brought  his 

(491) 


492  LIVES   OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

family  and  household  goods  thither  by  forty  days  of  most 
fatiguing  travel  in  a  covered  wagon.  His  father,  who 
set  up  a  country  store  in  the  village,  and  conducted  it 
profitably,  died  before  Rutherford's  birth,  but  left  his 
family  very  well-off.  The  youth  was  graduated  at  Ken- 
yon  College,  Gambier,  at  twenty,  studied  law,  and 
began  practice  at  twenty-three  at  Sandusky. 

He  afterward  removed  to  Cincinnati,  opened  an  offce, 
and  married  Lucy  W.  Webb,  daughter  of  a  physician  of 
Chillicothe.  A  staunch  Republican  in  opinion,  he  was 
chosen  City  Solicitor,  and  grew  prominent  in  local 
politics.  Joining  the  Literary  Club,  he  became  a  friend 
of  a  number  of  the  members,  among  them  Salmon  P. 
Chase,  John  Pope,  and  Edward  F.  Noyes,  who  afterward 
obtained  celebrity  in  the  field  and  in  the  councils  of  the 
Nation.  At  the  first  call  for  troops,  the  Literary  Club 
formed  a  military  company  with  the  name,  Burnett 
Rifles,  and  offered  its  services  to  the  government.  Not 
less  than  seventy-five  members  became  commissioned 
officers,  more  than  half  of  these  being  lawyers.  Hayes 
was  made  Major  of  the  Twenty-third  Ohio  infantry,  of 
which  Stanley  Matthews  was  Lieutenant-colonel,  and 
William  S.  Rosecrans  Colonel,  and  was  assigned  to  duty 
in  West  Virginia.  He  was  very  energetic  in  campaign 
ing,  was  wounded  at  South  Mountain,  and  at  the  close  of 
October  was  appointed  a  Brigadier,  and  early  in  1865  a 
Major-General  by  brevet  for  gallant  conduct  in  the  field, 


LIVES  OP  THE  PRESIDENTS.  493 

especially  at  Fisher's  Hill  and  Cedar  Creek.  In  the 
Autumn  of  1864,  he  was  sent  to  Congress  from  one  of 
the  Cincinnati  districts,  and  was  sent  back  two  years 
later.  Although  he  seldom  participated  in  debate,  he 
performed  a  deal  of  hard  work,  and  was  of  more  value 
than  many  of  the  glib  talkers  in  the  House.  Having 
been  chosen  governor  in  1867  against  Judge  Thurman, 
Democrat,  he  resigned  his  seat  to  go  to  Columbus,  and 
was  reflected  two  years  later. 

Ten  years  ago,  a  rich  uncle,  Sardis  Birchard,  died  and 
left  him  a  handsome  property.  In  1875,  having  again 
been  put  forward  as  Governor,  because  it  was  considered 
very  important  that  the  Republicans  should  carry  Ohio, 
he  received  a  majority  of  5,544  over  William  Allen. 
This  naturally  introduced  him  as  a  candidate  for  the 
Presidency,  and  the  Ohio  Republican  Convention  in 
March,  1876,  recommended  his  nomination.  At  the 
National  Convention  in  Cincinnati  in  June,  before  which 
Elaine  and  Roscoe  Colliding  were  most  prominent,  it  was 
found  impossible  to  nominate  either  of  them ;  conse 
quently  the  opponents  of  Elaine  united  on  Hayes,  and  on 
the  seventh  ballot  gave  him  884  votes ;  Elaine  getting 
851,  and  Benjamin  H.  Bristow  21.  In  the  returns  of  the 
November  elections,  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  it  will  be  remem 
bered,  had  184  electoral  votes,  and  Hayes  172  that  were 
unquestioned.  The  votes  of  Florida  and  Louisiana,  and 
one  of  the  votes  of  Oregon  were  in  dispute  on  different 


494  LIVES  OP  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

grounds  between  the  parties.  There  was  much  excite 
ment  over  this,  and  there  seemed  to  be  no  way  of  set 
tling  the  matter.  Finally,  it  was  agreed  that  the  decision 
should  be  left  to  a  commission  of  five  Senators,  five  Re 
presentatives,  and  five  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
Three  of  the  Senators  were  to  be  Republicans  and  two 
Democrats,  three  of  the  Representatives  Democrats  and 
two  Republicans.  Four  Judges,  two  of  each  party,  were 
elected,  and  these  were  to  name  a  fifth,  who  was  a  Re 
publican.  Thus  the  commission  stood  eight  Republicans 
to  seven  Democrats,  and  they  all  voted  strictly  in  accord 
ance  with  their  party,  declaring  Hayes  elected  over  Til- 
den  by  one  vote,  and  he,  Hayes,  was  duly  inaugurated 
nineteenth  President  of  the  United  States. 

There  was  a  great  Democratic  outcry  that  Hayes  had 
not  been  honestly  elected,  and  he  was  roundly  abused  for 
two  years.  But  he  preserved  a  firm,  dignified  demean 
our,  and  conducted  his  administration  to  a  creditable 
close.  It  was  the  fashion  to  ridicule  him  as  unfit  for 
the  position ;  but  the  facts  showed  nothing  of  the  kind. 
He  is  not  a  great  or  a  brilliant  man — few  of  our  Presidents 
have  been — but  he  was  honest,  modest,  and  conscientious 
in  his  high  office,  and  is  entitled  to,  and  has  won  the  es 
teem  of  unbiased  citizens. 


LIVES  OP  THE  PRESIDENTS.  495 

JAMES   A.    GARFIELD. 

James  A.  Garfield  was  another  of  the  self-made  men 
who  have  become  Presidents  of  the  United  States,  al 
though  there  was  no  more  likelihood  in  his  youth  of  such 
an  occurrence  than  of  his  becoming  the  Mikado  of 
Japan.  Although  self-made,  he  was  batter  made  than  the 
great  majority  of  men  who  are  so  called.  He  secured  a 
regular  education,  and  achieved  scholarship  in  the  teeth 
of  the  most  formidable  difficulties  by  a  degree  of  indus 
try,  energy,  and  perseverance  that  is  seldom  equaled. 
He  nobly  won  all  the  prizes  that  were  his.  They  did  not 
fall  to  his  lot :  lie  wrested  them  from  reluctant  fortune. 

He  was  from  Orange  township,  Cuyahoga  County,  Ohio 
— Ohio  lias  become  the  Northern  mother  of  Presidents — 
having  been  born  there  November  19,  1831.  Some  of 
his  biographers  aver  that  he  was  of  noble  English  descent. 
His  father,  a  native  of  Worcester,  N.  Y.,  had  emigrated 
and  made  what  he  considered  a  home  in  the  primeval 
forest,  cutting  down  the  trees,  and  building  a  log  cabin 
for  his  family.  To  that  uninviting  place,  four  children 
had  been  bidden,  James  being  the  youngest — they  might 
not  have  come  voluntarily — and  participated  with  their 
parents  in  the  desperate  struggle  for  existence,  inevitable 
in  such  a  region.  Everything  was  of  the  rudest.  They 
lived  little  better  than  savages.  The  cabin  was  with 
out  windows  or  doors, — holes  serving  for  the  purpose 
— and  two  or  three  acres  of  cleared  land  furnishing  the 


49<3  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

grain,  and  tho  woods  the  game  on  which  they  subsisted. 
In  such  an  abode  the  future  President  cut  wood,  dug  up 
stumps,  watched  cattle,  and  tilled  landed  until  he  was 
twelve  years  old.  His  father  died  when  he  was  a  baby, 
and  lie  might  have  starved  except  for  his  elder  brother 
and  his  mother — her  maiden  name  was  Eliza  Ballou — 
who  labored  night  and  day  to  keep  the  wolf  from  the 
door.  A  relative  of  Abram  Garfield,  who  lived  in  the 
neighborhood,  pitied  their  poverty,  and  aided  them  to 
the  extent  of  his  limited  ability. 

James  does  not  seem  to  have  been  different  from  other 
boys.  He  showed  no  precocious  talents,  or,  in  fact,  talents 
of  any  sort  until  he  had  reached  his  teens.  His  first 
ambition  was  to  be  the  Captain  of  a  canal  boat ;  but  he 
never  got  any  further  than  to  drive  a  mule  on  the  tow- 
path  on  the  Ohio  canal.  He  was  fond  of  reading,  and 
as  he  went  to  Cleveland  frequently  to  sell  wood  or  buy 
provisions,  he  had  opportunities  to  get  books.  A  noma 
dic  teacher  and  preacher  whom  he  had  met,  inspired  him 
with  a  desire  for  education,  and  by  practicing  all  sorts  of 
self-denial,  he  was  enabled  to  attend  an  academy  in  the 
adjoining  township  of  Chester.  In  one  of  the  classes 
there  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Lucretia  Rudolph, 
who  afterward  became  his  wife.  He  subsequently  went 
to  the  Eclectic  Institute,  now  Hiram  College,  where  he 
was  fitted  for  Williams  College,  being  graduated  at 
twenty-five.  Returning  to  Hiram,  he  taught  there  for  a 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  497 

while,  and  was  in  a  short  while  appointed  its  President. 
He  also  studied  law,  of  course — nearly  every  public  man 
in  the  Republic  is  or  has  been  a  lawyer — and  was  admit 
ted  to  the  bar.  Politics  likewise  engaged  his  attention, 
and  he  was  sent  by  the  Republicans  to  the  State  Senate, 
where  he  exhibited  decided  ability. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  he  entered  the  field  as 
colonel  of  the  42d  Ohio  volunteers,  and  was  ordered  to 
Kentucky.  He  defeated  Humphrey  Marshall  at  Paint- 
ville  with  a  much  inferior  force,  and  drove  him  out  of  the 
State,  receiving  therefor  a  brigadiership  at  an  earlier  age 
— thirty — than  any  other  Union  soldier.  He  afterward 
served  at  Shiloh,  Corinth,  and  in  Alabama,  and  in  1863 
was  appointed  chief  of  staff  of  the  army  of  the  Cumber 
land  under  Rosecrans.  For  meritorious  conduct  at  Chi- 
chamauga  he  was  made  a  Major-General.  He  went  to 
Congress  the  same  year ;  was  reflected  eight  times,  and 
after  Elaine  had  been  transferred  to  the  Senate — 1876 — 
he  was  acknowledged  to  be  the  Republican  leader  of  the 
House.  Garfield  had  become  a  diligent  student  and  a  tire 
less  worker,  and  did  such  excellent  work  on  committees 
as  to  earn  a  national  reputation.  No  man  in  the  country 
advanced  more  intellectually  from  the  time  he  entered 
Congress  until  he  stepped  into  the  Executive  Mansion. 
He  was  by  temperament,  training,  and  ambition  a  leader. 
He  appeared  to  be  at  the  time  of  his  death  the  national 
chief  of  the  Republican  party,  and  he  would  no  doubt 


498  LIVES   OP   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

have  kept  the  place,  had  he  lived.  He  was  an  able 
speaker,  acquainted  with  finance,  railways,  the  public 
needs,  and  such  political  questions,  not  to  speak  of  his 
knowledge  of  human  nature,  as  a  man  in  his  position 
ought  to  be,  and  he  went  to  the  bottom  of  things. 

In  January,  1880,  he  was  elected  to  the  National  Sen 
ate  from  Ohio,  and  at  the  National  Convention  in  June, 
which  he  attended  at  a  delegate,  he  was  nominated  to 
the  Presidency  on  the  thirty-sixth  ballot.  Having  gone 
to  Chicago  to  support  John  Sherman,  he  had  no  thought 
of  his  own  nomination,  for  he  was  not  a  candidate. 
Grant  and  Elaine  were  most  conspicuous  before  the  Con 
vention,  and  most  of  Grant's  opponents  at  the  last  went 
over  to  Garfield.  He  received  in  November  the  votes  of 
nearly  all  the  Northern  States.  No  one  can  forget  the 
sad  day  when  Guiteau,  from  anger  at  not  getting  an 
office,  and  from  morbid  love  of  notoriety,  shot  the  Presi 
dent,  or  the  still  sadder  day  when  he  died.  The  eighty 
days  in  which  his  life  trembled  in  the  balance,  were  days 
of  such  anxiety,  compassion,  and  sorrow  throughout  the 
land  as  had  never  before  been  felt.  And  when  he 
breathed  his  last,  the  whole  Republic  mourned  as  if  it 
had  sustained  a  personal  bereavement  of  the  nearest  and 
dearest ;  and  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  are  still 
unresigned  to  a  stroke  of  destiny  so  needlessly  cruel. 


LIVES  OP  THE  PRESIDENTS.  499 

CHESTER   A.    ARTHUR. 

Chester  A.  Arthur  is  the  fourth  Vice-President  who 
has  become  President  by  the  death  of  the  Chief  Magis 
trate,  and  two  of  the  deaths,  strange  to  say,  have  been 
assassinations  in  a  land  that  lias  an  instinctive  horror 
of  assassins.  Before  Harrison's  decease,  it  used  to  be 
said  by  politicians,  "  It  matters  little  whom  we  nominate 
for  Vice-President.  A  Vice-President  is  nothing  but 
President  of  the  Senate ;  he  can  do  no  harm,  and  very 
little  good.  Almost  any  man  will  answer  for  that 
office."  The  experience  of  forty  odd  years  has  taught 
us  the  contrary.  We  have  learned  that  an  American 
President  is  as  mortal  as  any  of  his  fellows,  and  that 
Vice-Presidcnts  are  very  uncertain.  Not  one  of  the 
Vice-Presidents,  Arthur  excepted,  redeemed  the  expec 
tations  formed  of  them ;  and  two  of  them  rendered 
themselves  odious  and  infamous  to  the  party  that  had 
put  them  in  povrer.  Fillmore,  the  best  of  the  three 
that  are  dead,  made  himself  so  unpopular  by  approving 
of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  that  he  never  could  have 
been  elected  again.  Arthur  has  gained  a  repute  at  the 
head  of  the  Nation  which  he  certainly  did  not  have 
as  the  holder  of  the  second  place.  When  nominated, 
he  was  not  generally  approved ;  he  was  believed  to  be 
too  much  of  a  politician,  and  too  little  else.  It  was 
understood  that  he  had  been  put  on  the  ticket  with  a 
view  to  carrying  New  York,  and  that  this  constituted 


500  LIVES  OF  THE  PRESIDENTS. 

his  principal  claim.  Following  his  election,  his  rampant 
"  stalwartism,"  his  over-anxiety  to  serve  Conkling  at 
Albany,  after  his  resignation  from  the  Senate,  was 
harshly  and  justly  commented  on.  But  when  Garfield 
died,  he  acted  with  delicacy  and  discretion,  and  has 
so  acted  ever  since.  His  views  have  been  broad 
and  statesman-like,  his  bearing  dignified,  his  policy 
enlightened.  Nobody  will  say  that  he  has  not  been  a 
good  President.  He  will  go  out  of  office  with  honors 
that,  when  he  entered  it,  were  not  his.  This  is  no  light 
praise.  And  more;  he  has  removed  the  doubt  and 
apprehension  that  have  been  associated  with  Vice-Pre 
sidential  succession. 

Arthur  is  the  son  of  a  Baptist  clergyman  from  the 
North  of  Ireland,  who  had  settled  in  Eastern  Canada, 
and  had,  with  unconscious  forecast,  removed  just  across 
the  border,  to  give  his  eldest  boy  a  geographical  chance 
to  be  President  of  the  United  States.  He  was  born  at 
the  hamlet  of  Fairfield  in  a  log  cabin ;  was  one  of  five 
children,  whom  his  father,  preaching  for  8350  a  year  in 
an  old  barn,  could  hardly  afford  to  have.  But  families 
were  not  then  regarded  financially,  nor  were  they  the 
dispensable  luxuries  that  they  are  now,  particularly 
in  large  and  expensive  cities.  The  poor  clergyman  was 
obliged  to  eke  out  his  necessary  expenses  by  manual 
labor  in  field  or  shop,  and  even  when  his  circumstances 


LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS.  501 

improved,  was  but  an  itinerant  pulpiteer,  continually 
perplexed  with  making  both  ends  meet. 

Chester  Arthur,  who  is  a  polished  man  of  society, 
and  noted  as  an  elegant  dinner-giver,  must  contrast  some 
times  the  sumptuousness  of  these  days  with  the  Spartan 
plainness  of  the  days  of  his  boyhood,  spent  in  the  rude 
school-house  of  the  rural  districts  of  the  time.  He  was 
only  eighteen  when  he  was  graduated  at  Union  College, 
Schenectady.  After  teaching  a  while  in  his  native 
State,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  twenty-eight,  and 
settled  in  New  York  City.  His  first  case  that  made 
any  noise  was  the  Lemmon  Slave  Case,  in  which  he 
was  attorney  for  the  people,  and  Wm.  M.  Evarts  leading 
counsel  on  the  same  side.  They  maintained  that  eight 
slaves  whom  their  master,  Jonathan  Lemmon  of  Vir 
ginia,  had  brought  to  New  York,  were  made  free  by 
his  voluntary  act.  Charles  O'Conor  and  Henry  L. 
Clinton  appeared  for  Lemmon ;  but  after  various  ap 
peals,  Arthur  and  Evarts'  position  was  sustained. 
Arthur  acted  as  counsel  for  a  colored  woman  who  had 
been  expelled  (1856)  from  the  horse-cars  on  account 
of  her  color,  and  gained  a  verdict  for  damages  for  his 
client,  which  secured  equal  rights  for  negroes  in  all 
public  vehicles.  One  of  the  first  Republicans,  he  has 
always  acted  with  the  party.  He  was  appointed  Engi- 
neer-in-Chief  by  Governor  Morgan  in  1861,  and,  the 
year  following,  Quartermaster-General  of  the  forces  of 


602  LIVES   OF   THE   PRESIDENTS. 

the  State  (whence  his  title),  and  discharged  his  duties 
admirably.  For  seven  years  he  was  Collector  of  the 
Port  of  New  York,  and  was  removed  by  Hayes  because 
he  thought  the  office  was  used  as  a  political  power  in 
the  State.  He  then  resumed  the  practice  of  law,  but 
has  always  been  a  very  active, — perhaps  too  active, — 
politician.  He  is  now,  as  every  one  knows,  the  twenty- 
first  President  of  the  Republic. 


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